ISLAMABAD: Making mockery of the rule of law in the country , the National Assembly has passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, seeking secrecy of parliamentarians’ assets, amid opposition by the PTI.
As per the existing law, the parliamentarians are required to submit to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on or before Dec 31 each year, a statement of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and dependent children.
Section 138 of the Elections Act also requires the ECP to publish these declarations in the official gazette.
This law was also not more than a formality as it had no penality for those parliamentarians who do not submit details of their asserts within and out of the country. Under the exitiing law ECP can only suspend a member of the parliament if he or she fails to submit details of their assets to ECP.
But now that toothless ECP law has also been practically put in abeyqnce the as any member of the parliament will write a letter to the speaker of Senate chairman and hush up his / her assets from the public eye.
The bill passed by the NA on Wednesday proposes an amendment to Section 138 of the Elections Act, seeking to insert a proviso stating: “Provided that the speaker of the assembly concerned or, as the case may be, the chairman of the Senate may, on an application made by a member for reasons to be recorded in writing, by a ruling delivered in the chamber, determine that the statement of assets and liabilities of that member shall not be published publicly by the commission if such publication would pose a serious threat to the life or safety of the members or, as the case may be, his family, for a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 shall be submitted confidentially to the Election Commission.”.
The new amendment in Section 138 of the Elections Act is a deliberate attempt by the parliamentarians to hide and protect their ill-gotton money and assets.
The new law is sheer contrast to those laws which have been put in place to ensure transparency in the system in Pakistan . This law also endorses the UN body’s recently published detailed report which shocked every commoner here that 17% ruling elite have grabbed 78% resources in Pakistan. It also makes clear that the parliament is a best club to protect interests of the ruling elite. With passing the new law the law-makers have made it abundantly clear that they are over and above the law of the land.
