ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday moved to suspend the membership of 272 parliamentarians over their failure to submit details of their assets.

The ECP has sent lists of the members to the respective speakers of the houses, asking them to stop the listed members from working.

The parliamentarians suspended by the ECP include 62 members of the National Assembly, 13 from the Senate, 123 from the Punjab Assembly, 39 from the KP Assembly, 26 from the Sindh Assembly and nine from the Balochistan Assembly.

Prominent names among those who have not submitted details of their assets are:

Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra of the PML-N, Hasil Khan Bizenjo of the NP, Shahi Syed of the ANP, Taj Haider of the PPP, Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem of the MQM, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, Federal Minister for Trade Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan, PTI MNA Shafqat Mehmood, PML-N MNA Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, PPP MNA Ameen Fahim, MQM MNA Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, PPP MNA Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and PTI MPA Ziaullah Afridi.

Under the relevant law, all parliamentarians were required to submit details of their assets, those of their spouses and children, to the ECP by Sept 30.

Introduced in 2002 by the then military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, the law is flouted by politicians at will.

The Representation of the People Act, 1976, section 42A states:

“Every member shall, on a form prescribed under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 12, submit a Statements of Assets & Liabilities of his own, his spouse and dependents annually to the Commission by the thirtieth day of September each year.

(2) The Statements of Assets and Liabilities submitted under sub-section (1) shall be published in the official Gazette and copies thereof may be obtained on payment of prescribed fee.

(3) The Commission shall, by the fifteenth day of October each year, notify the names of the members who fail to file Statements of Assets & Liabilities within the period specified in sub-section (1) and by an order, direct that such member shall cease to function till such statement is submitted.

(4) Where a member submits the Statements of Assets and Liabilities under sub-section (1) which is found to be false in material particulars, he may be proceeded against under Section 82 for committing the offence of corrupts practice.”

Lawmakers allege that the relevant law has several flaws and has failed to motivate any meaningful accountability, which was the basic spirit of the legislation.