The National Assembly of Pakistan on Wednesday passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, paving the way for lawmakers to seek temporary exemption from public disclosure of their assets and liabilities on security grounds.
The bill proposes an amendment to Section 138 of the Elections Act. Under the new provision, the speaker of the relevant assembly or the chairman of the Senate of Pakistan may allow non-publication of a member’s assets if disclosure poses a serious threat to the life or safety of the lawmaker or their family.
The exemption would apply for a maximum period of one year at a time. Even in such cases, lawmakers must submit a confidential, complete, and accurate statement of assets and liabilities to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The presiding officer would issue the ruling in the house and record reasons in writing.
Shazia Atta Marri of the Pakistan Peoples Party tabled the bill in the lower house. The proposed law now requires approval by the Senate and the president’s assent before it can take effect.
Background and recent suspensions
Under the existing legal framework, members of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies must submit annual statements of assets and liabilities, including those of spouses and dependent children, by December 31 each year. Section 138 also requires the ECP to publish these declarations in the official gazette.
The amendment comes shortly after the ECP suspended the memberships of 159 lawmakers across federal and provincial legislatures for failing to submit their financial statements.
According to the ECP notification, the suspensions included 32 MNAs, 50 members of the Punjab Assembly, 33 members of the Sindh Assembly, 28 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 7 members of the Balochistan Assembly, and 9 senators.
Among those suspended were Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, Abid Sher Ali, and Murad Saeed. The Punjab Assembly suspensions included Rana Sikandar Hayat, Adnan Dogar, and Aamir Hayat Hiraj.
In Sindh, the ECP suspended lawmakers, including Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah, former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and provincial minister Saeed Ghani.
The election watchdog also suspended memberships of several lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies, reinforcing its enforcement of financial disclosure requirements.
