ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Chief Election Commissioner Irshad Hasan Khan on Saturday directed the Election Commission to remain open on Sunday to facilitate those members of parliament and provincial assemblies who have not yet filed their statements of assets and liabilities.

Around 220, out of a total 1,170 members of the Senate, National Assembly and the provincial assemblies, failed to meet the deadline - Sept 30 - of submitting their yearly statements with the commission.

Prominent among those who failed to meet the deadline include Federal Minister for Women Development Zobaida Jalal, Federal Minister for Environment Tahir Iqbal, Federal Minister for Tourism Dr Ghazi Ghulab Jamal, Minister for IT & Telecommunication Ali Asjad Malhi, former law minister Senator Dr Khalid Ranjha, parliament members Sardar Latif Khosa, Fauzia Habib, Khalid Ahmed Khan Lund, Robina Saadat Kaimkhani, Raja Nadir Pervez, Saad Rafiq, Hafiz Salman Butt, Robina Shahin Wattoo and Nawab Mirza.

In view of the response, the CEC then allowed the members of the National Assembly, Senate, and Punjab, Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan assemblies to submit their statements before Oct 15 - a date on which a notification announcing the suspension of membership of those failing to do so would be issued by the CEC.

In the latest announcement, it directed that the relevant branch of the Election Commission secretariat would remain open on Sunday (October 10) to receive the statements from 10am to 5pm. Thereafter, the same would be received by the R&I branch of the commission till 10pm.

The law authorizes the CEC to declare that a member failing to submit his statement of accounts has ceased to function as member parliament till the filing of this statement to the commission.-Staff Reporter