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  • 33 ‘criminals’ in Punjab Assembly

    33 ‘criminals’ in Punjab Assembly

    With the democratic process continuing in the country for the third consecutive tenure, revelations are being made about the national and provincial assemblies’ lawmakers who are currently representing the people of their respective constituencies.

    As per these revelations, as many as 33 Punjab Assembly members of three political parties are facing criminal proceedings in different courts across the country, while the assembly also houses four billionaires. The case in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan assemblies is quite similar as well.

    According to Free & Fair Election Network’s (FAFEN) “Parliament Monitor”, here is all you need to know about your provincial representatives.

    Punjab Assembly:

    Nearly one-third (123) legislators in the Punjab Assembly have declared that they possess assets of a cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million, while 18 per cent own assets ranging between one million rupees to Rs10 million. The worth of around 16 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million while 12 per cent legislators have assets of worth between Rs51 million to 100 million rupees.

    There are four billionaires in the Punjab Assembly with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sheikh Allauddin being the richest with assets worth more than Rs1 billion. On the other hand, six and three legislators belonging to PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), respectively, have assets worth less than a million.

    Moreover, as many as 33 (9%) incoming legislators of Punjab have mentioned in their affidavits that they have criminal cases pending against them.

    18 of these lawmakers belong to PTI, 14 to PML-N and one to Pakistan Rah-e-Haq.

    Sindh Assembly:

    As many as 59 legislators have declared that they possess assets of cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million. 30 per cent have assets that range from Rs1 million to Rs10 million. The worth of around 15 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million, while 11 per cent legislators have assets between Rs51 million to 100 million.

    The richest declared legislator in the Sindh Assembly is Pakistan People’s Party (PPP leader) Mukesh Kumar Chawla, who owns assets worth Rs550 million while four legislators – two of PTI, one each of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) – have assets worth less than a million rupees.

    Meanwhile, 20 (12%) legislators have criminal cases pending against them. Half of these lawmakers with pending criminal cases belong to PPP, four to Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), three to PTI and two to MQM-P while one is an independent lawmaker.

    KP Assembly:

    One-third (45) lawmakers have declared that they possess assets of cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million while 20 per cent have assets of worth ranging from one to Rs10 million. The worth of around 9 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million.

    As many as two PTI legislators own declared assets worth more than a billion including the incumbent Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who is the richest among provincial legislators with assets more than Rs2.5 billion. In addition, four legislators have assets of worth less than a million.

    Out of the total number of incoming legislators, eight (6%) mentioned in their affidavits that they have criminal cases pending against them. Five of these belong to PTI while three to Awami National Party (ANP).

    Balochistan Assembly:

    At least 22 legislators have declared the cumulative worth of their assets between Rs11 million to Rs50 million, while 21 per cent have assets of worth ranging between one to Rs10 million. The worth of around 8 per cent legislators’ assets ranges between Rs101 million to Rs500 million and as many as three Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and two independent legislators own declared assets worth more than Rs100 million.

    Nawabzada Tariq Magsi is the richest legislator of the Balochistan Assembly, with assets more than Rs324 million. Two legislators have assets of worth less than a million rupees.

    As for the criminal cases, 10 (15%) legislators have criminal proceedings pending against them. At least three of these legislators belong to BAP, two to ANP, and one each to PTI and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). Three alleged criminals are independent legislators.

  • 600,000 Pakistanis to be unemployed by July 2019?

    600,000 Pakistanis to be unemployed by July 2019?

    As many as 0.6 million Pakistanis “will lose their jobs by July 2019”, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohammad Zubair Umar has claimed amid questions being raised over the government’s efforts for the uplifting of the country’s economy.

    “Unemployment is rising by the day and it is expected that by end of the fiscal year, 600,000 Pakistanis will have lost their jobs,” Zubair said in a statement issued after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government completed 200 days in centre.

    Due to the poor economy, he added, more than four million people “will also go below the poverty line”.

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    The claims, however, were refuted by Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar, who termed Zubair’s statement “the worst case of inaccurate numbers and half-truths”.

    “Pure conjecture. With private sector borrowing up and exporters gearing up for higher productions and foreign investors showing unprecedented interest, Pakistan is readjusting for investment and employment-led growth,” Azhar said.

    He further stated the most comprehensive and consolidated poverty alleviation programme was being developed by the government and there was no truth to Zubair’s statement regarding millions of people going below the poverty line.

    With the row between members of the ruling PTI and PML-N continuing, The Current reached out to a Lahore-based political economist and public policy professional Rahema Hasan for the validity of either side’s claims.

    “People may not be losing their jobs by the end of the fiscal year, but it’s the number of people entering the labour force annually, which will add to the unemployment rate,” she said.

    “Unemployment figures are high for Pakistan, but estimations need to be made on concurrent information and not perceptions,” she said and added that such claims could discourage private sector investment confidence and put pressure on public resources.

    On the other hand, the government needs to put down estimations of how much employment is expected out of the investment coming to Pakistan; for example, 1,000 jobs per every $100 million invested in the agriculture sector, Rahema said further.

    “Perception is a key to economic decision making, however, necessarily based on incomplete and unverified information, it is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior,” she said.

    Rahema was of the view that mere assumptions and political gimmicks could have devastating effects on economic decision-making.