The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday suspended the memberships of 159 lawmakers from the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies for failing to submit mandatory financial statements.
According to an official notification, the suspended lawmakers include 32 MNAs, nine senators, 50 members of the Punjab Assembly, 33 Sindh Assembly members, 28 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly lawmakers, and seven members of the Balochistan Assembly.
Prominent figures whose memberships have been suspended include Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah, Federal Education Minister and MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, PPP leaders Syed Ali Musa Gilani and Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, and PML-N MNA Saira Tarar.
Among the suspended senators are Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik, PML-N leader Abid Sher Ali, and PTI’s Murad Saeed.
In the Punjab Assembly, 50 members were suspended, including Rana Sikandar Hayat, Adnan Dogar, and Aamir Hayat Hiraj. In Sindh, 33 lawmakers lost their membership, including former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and provincial minister Saeed Ghani.
The ECP action followed a January 15 deadline, after which members who failed to submit their asset and liability details were warned of suspension.
Under election laws, all lawmakers are required to submit annual statements of their assets and liabilities by December 31, along with financial details of their spouse and dependent children.
During the suspension period, affected members are barred from attending assembly sessions, voting, or participating in legislative business. Their memberships will be restored once the required statements are submitted.