National Assembly passes bill to limit public release of lawmakers’ asset data
“The National Assembly approved an elections bill that would allow temporary withholding of lawmakers’ publicly published asset declarations on security grounds.”
Key points
- The National Assembly approved an elections bill that would allow temporary withholding of lawmakers’ publicly published asset declarations on security grounds.
- The measure still requires Senate passage and presidential assent, and follows recent ECP suspensions over missing filings.
Pakistan’s National Assembly passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, proposing a mechanism to withhold public publication of a lawmaker’s statement of assets and liabilities if disclosure is judged to pose a serious threat to the member or their family.
The bill proposes an addition to Section 138 of the Elections Act that would allow the relevant speaker or the Senate chairman—upon a member’s application and with written reasons—to rule that the Election Commission should not publish the statement publicly for up to one year at a time. The amendment maintains that a complete and accurate declaration must still be submitted confidentially to the Election Commission.
Moved in the lower house by PPP lawmaker Shazia Atta Marri, the bill now requires Senate approval and presidential assent to become law. The development comes shortly after the Election Commission suspended a large number of lawmakers across legislatures for failing to submit required financial statements within the stipulated timeline.
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