Assets details of MNAs: Several lawmakers own no assets, lie close to poverty

[LRE]

* PML-N MNA claims he has no property, vehicle, business or personal belongings
* JUI-F parliamentarian has only Rs 1,500 in bank account

By Irfan Ghauri and Muhammad Bilal

ISLAMABAD: While parliamentarians can spend millions of rupees during their campaigns, there are several members of the National Assembly (MNAs) who own no assets or lie close to the poverty line, according to details of assets submitted by them to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

An official copy of the assets list made available to Daily Times reveals that Jamshed Ahmed Dasti of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has no assets or property in or outside the country. He has declared he only has one bank account at Parliament House from which he draws his salary as an MNA.

Blank slate: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Rana Abdul Sattar left all the columns on his declaration form blank, suggesting he has no property, vehicle, business or personal belongings. According to ECP laws, every parliamentarian is bound to submit yearly details of their assets or risk being suspended. Sattar’s claim of no assets raises serious questions about the status of his membership.

Reena Kumari, who was elected on a reserved seat for women on the PML-Functional’s ticket only signed the declaration with a note, as she did last year.

Dr Ayatullah Durrani of the PPP, elected from NA-268, has declared no assets apart from jewellery worth Rs 300,000 owned by his spouse and articles of personal use worth Rs 150,000. He has also mentioned two bank accounts, one private account and one for drawing his salary, but has not mentioned their amounts. In his assets details, he has declared that he shares agricultural land with his family, but has not given its cost. Durrani has no other asset or source of income.

Only 1,500: Maulvi Agha Muhammad of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has no assets apart from some unspecified property valued at Rs 600,000. He also has a bank account at Parliament House for the purpose of drawing his salary. He has only Rs 1,500 in his bank account.

Maulvi Asmatullah, who won the February 18 polls as an independent candidate, owns agriculture property and a house valued at Rs 300,000 each. He has a business investment worth Rs 200,000, and a 1988 car worth Rs 250,000. His savings amount to Rs 300,000.

Bilal Yasin of the PML-N has declared in his assets a house at Race Course Road, Lahore. However, he has not mentioned its value. He has a business investment of Rs 1 million, a new Toyota car and 1,000 grammes of jewellery. However, he has not mentioned the present values of either of his material assets. He has mentioned Rs 200,000 in his bank account.

In his assets details, Maulana Abdul Malik Wazir from NA-41 has claimed he has no property or business apart from one car and Rs 50,000 in a bank account. He had declared that he purchased a 2001 model car at Rs 825,000, which is currently valued at Rs 600,000. In his liabilities, he has mentioned five acres of mortgaged land and Rs 450,000 in loans.


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