ECP summons Bilawal Bhutto on January 14

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to appear before ECP office for ambiguity over the value of his assets and tax returns, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to sources, the commission has directed Bilawal to appear either personally or through his counsel to explain why he did not submit ‘correct details’ of his income tax returns.

The sources said that the commission wrote a number of times letters to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari but he did not pay heed towards the notices of the commission.

It must be noted that PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto is also facing a corruption case before the accountability bureau.

Under Section 137 of the Elections Act, 2017, it is mandatory for the parliamentarians to submit yearly statements of the assets owned by them, their spouse and dependent children.

According to ECP, the supreme electoral body of the country, on the first day of January each year, publishes the names of those members who failed to submit the requisite statement of assets within the period specified under sub-section-1.

The ECP keeps the right to suspend the membership of the lawmakers who failed to submit the details of their assets till the deadline.

Back in January 2019, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had suspended the membership of 332 parliamentarians over failing to submit details of their assets.

The electoral body had also penned letters to the chairman Senate, Speaker National Assembly and the speakers of the Provincial Assemblies in this regard.