The Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday temporarily suspended the membership of 154 federal and provincial lawmakers for failing to submit details of their annual assets declaration. Minister for inter-provincial coordination Fehmida Mirza, minister for science and technology Fawad Chaudhry and minister for maritime affairs Ali Haider Zaidi are among the suspended lawmakers.

According to Section 137 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017, it is mandatory for a lawmaker to submit a statement of assets and liabilities along with that of spouse and dependent children by December 31 each year. The Election Commission of Pakistan announced 154 members of the Senate, national and provincial assemblies had been suspended for failing to fulfil their duty of placing a record of assets before it. Their membership will remain suspended until they submit their respective statements.

The ECP suspends the membership of scores of lawmakers almost every year for not submitting the statement. More than 300 lawmakers were suspended last year. However, most of them comply and get their membership restored after fulfilling the legal requirement. Some of the ministers were not happy and complained that the ECP took action against them despite having already filed their declaration. Among them was Zaidi who said he complied on January 5 and was unable to “understand the fuss” about suspension.