ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, seeking to allow the withholding of public disclosure of lawmakers’ assets and liabilities in cases where such disclosure is deemed to pose a serious threat to the life or safety of a member of parliament or their family.
The bill proposes an amendment to Section 138 of the Elections Act, inserting a new proviso that empowers the speaker of the relevant assembly or the chairman of the Senate to restrict public publication of a member’s asset details.
Under the proposed law, a member may apply for non-publication of their asset declaration, and the speaker or chairman may approve the request through a written ruling delivered in the chamber, if it is determined that public disclosure would endanger the member or their family.
However, such exemption would be time-bound, valid for a period not exceeding one year at a time, and subject to the condition that a complete and true statement of assets and liabilities is submitted confidentially to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The bill was moved in the lower house by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Shazia Atta Marri.
The legislation will now be sent to the Senate for approval and will require presidential assent before becoming law.
Current Law on Asset Declarations
Under existing provisions of the Elections Act, members of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies are required to submit annual statements of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and dependent children, to the ECP by December 31 each year. The law also mandates the ECP to publish these declarations in the official gazette.
Background: Lawmakers’ Membership Suspensions
The development comes a week after the Election Commission of Pakistan suspended the memberships of 159 lawmakers across various legislatures for failing to submit their financial statements.
According to the ECP notification, those suspended included:
- 32 MNAs
- 50 Punjab Assembly members
- 33 Sindh Assembly lawmakers
- 28 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members
- 7 Balochistan Assembly members
- 9 Senators
Among the suspended senators were Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik, PML-N’s Abid Sher Ali, and PTI’s Murad Saeed.
The ECP also suspended 50 Punjab Assembly members, including Rana Sikandar Hayat, Adnan Dogar, and Aamir Hayat Hiraj.
In Sindh, 33 assembly members were suspended, including Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah, former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and provincial minister Saeed Ghani.
Additionally, memberships of 28 KP Assembly lawmakers and seven Balochistan Assembly members were suspended for non-compliance.