Election Commission suspends membership of 139 Pakistani parliamentarians

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of 139 members of parliament from the Senate, National Assembly, and all four provincial assemblies for not submitting their wealth statements.

According to a notification issued by the ECP, the membership of two members of the Senate, 16 members of the National Assembly, 68 members of the Punjab Assembly, 15 members of the Sindh Assembly, 33 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and five members of the Balochistan Assembly has been suspended.

The notification states that the membership of two senators of the Upper House — Senator Muhammad Qasim and Abdul Quddus — has been suspended.

The 16 members of the National Assembly who have been suspended include Mian Muhammad Azhar, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Akhtar Mengal, Mehboob Sultan, Ali Qasim Gilani, Tahir Iqbal, Farrukh Altaf, and others.

The membership of 68 members of the Punjab Assembly has been suspended, including Sahibzada Gazin Abbasi, Farhat Abbas, Javed Kausar, and others.

The membership of 15 members of the Sindh Assembly has been suspended, including Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Naeem Rehman.

The membership of 33 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has been suspended, including Provincial Minister Adnan Qadri, Mina Khan, Fazal Elahi, and others.

The membership of 5 members of the Balochistan Assembly has been suspended.

These memberships were suspended for not submitting the annual returns forfinancial year 2023-2024. These members of the Parliament and provincial assemblies will not be able to participate in legislation and meetings until their membership is restored.

The Election Commission has informed the chairman Senate and speakers of the National and provincial assemblies about the suspended members.