ISLAMABAD: The Election Commis­sion of Pakistan (ECP) has completed audit of the statements of assets and liabilities of 85 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and sent notices to a majority of them, asking them to rectify discrepancies in their papers within two weeks.

According to sources in the ECP, the legislators who had been issued notices included Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and a number of federal ministers and key members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

In an interesting development, the ECP also sent separate notices to the PTI chief and PML-N MNA Hamza Shahbaz for allegedly violating the election code of conduct during the recently held by-elections in Jhelum (NA-63) and Vehari (PP-162). Both of them have been asked to appear before the commission on Feb 14.

Mr Khan as well as Mr Shahbaz had addressed public and corner meetings in the two constituencies during the by-elections in August last year, despite warnings by the returning officers concerned.

A senior official of the ECP, when contacted, said the PTI chairman had been sent notice for providing “incomplete information” about his properties. Without providing details, the ECP official claimed that Mr Khan had mentioned some new properties in his documents which he had not disclosed at the time of contesting the elections in May 2013.

Similarly, he said that Mr Khan had not mentioned in his statements the value of the properties, stating that he had inherited or received as gift some of them. The ECP, he said, wanted to know from whom Mr Khan had received these properties as gift and why.

Similarly, the PTI chief has not disclosed the complete details of the inherited properties.

Prominent among those who have been sent notices are two former chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Amir Haider Hoti and Akram Khan Durrani, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Minister for Capital Administration Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Sherpao, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and PTI MNA from Taxila Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

The ECP official said they had sent notices even to those who had filled the forms wrongly, which showed that they had filled it “carelessly” and without reading them properly. He said another purpose of sending notices to the members even on minor issues was to make them realise the importance of the whole exercise, which was mandatory under the laws.

The PTI chairman confirmed receiving the ECP notice, hoping that the ECP would also send similar notice to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

In a statement, Mr Khan welcomed the ECP’s move to scrutinise his assets, saying the nation was fully aware of the details of his assets which had also been placed on the official website of the PTI.

The PTI chief said it was the basic responsibility of the ECP to investigate the properties of the prime minister spread all over the world. He said the people were questioning the sources of income and properties of Mr Sharif.

He also asked the ECP to hold investigations into the assets of federal ministers and bring the truth before the nation.

A handout of the ECP said that notices had been issued to the MNAs, “asking them to clarify the variations noted in their statements”.

“Some of the MNAs have responded (to the already sent notices) and provided the requisite clarifications and evidences in support of the information, which are in process of further scrutiny and examination,” it said.

The ECP started auditing the statements of assets and liabilities of members of the National Assembly in January. The ECP expects to complete the exercise by June. After audit of asset forms of the MNAs, forms of members of the Senate and provincial assemblies will be analysed.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017