The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of 32 members of the National Assembly for failing to submit their asset declarations, a move formally announced in the House by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

During the National Assembly session, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq read out the election commission’s suspension order. He directed that if any of the suspended members were present in the House, they must immediately leave.

The speaker clarified that the membership of the affected lawmakers would only be restored after they submit their pending asset declarations.

Ministers among suspended MNAs

According to the list released by the Election Commission of Pakistan, several high-profile lawmakers are among the suspended MNAs. These include Federal Ministers Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Musadik Malik. Other notable suspended MNAs include Ali Musa Gilani, Abdul Qadir Gilani, Akhtar Mengal, and Mahreen Razak Bhutto.

Women lawmakers also affected

The suspension list also includes five female members of the National Assembly. Among them are Saira Afzal Tarar and Mehreen Razak Bhutto. The ECP said the action applies equally to all lawmakers who failed to comply with the legal requirement.

In total, the election commission has suspended the membership of 159 lawmakers from the Senate and national and provincial assemblies for not submitting asset declarations for the financial year 2024–25.

This includes 32 members of the National Assembly, nine members of the Senate, and lawmakers from all four provincial assemblies.

Breakdown of provincial, Senate suspensions

According to the ECP:

50 members of the Punjab Assembly have been suspended
33 members of the Sindh Assembly face suspension
28 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have been suspended
7 members of the Balochistan Assembly are also affected
9 senators, including Abid Sher Ali, Murad Saeed, and Noorul Haq Qadri, have been suspended from the Senate

Punjab Assembly suspensions

In Punjab, the list includes Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat and Opposition Leader Moin Riaz Qureshi.

Other suspended members include Sardar Pervaiz Iqbal Gorchani, Sardar Sher Afgan Gorchani, Waseem Khan Badozai, and Adnan Dogar. Three women elected on reserved seats in the Punjab Assembly are also among those suspended.

The election commission made it clear that all suspended lawmakers will be barred from entering their respective houses or participating in proceedings until they submit their asset declarations.

Officials stressed that membership will be restored immediately once the required returns are filed.