How parliamentarians possess millions of assets when they don't have a business in Pakistan?

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The latest statement of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians for the year 2012-13 released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has made shocking revelations.

According to the details released on ECP’s website, most of the politicians own millions of assets but surprisingly, they don’t run any business.

Interestingly, the parliamentarians have also invested millions of rupees in stock exchange. Some of the parliamentarians also stated in their forms that they have provided loans of millions to their children to start business ventures. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said he had made a loan of Rs 400 million to his children while National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq loaned Rs 2 million to his son.

The ECP statement also refuted the perception that feudalism was getting weaker in Pakistan. Senator Israr Zehri revealed that he possessed 52,000 acres of agricultural land in several districts of Balochistan.

One of the senators considered to be richest, Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan, who also had a land dispute worth 30 million pounds in London, stated that he doesn’t own property abroad. Waqar Ahmed also wrote he doesn’t have any business though he had Rs 18.06 million in bank accounts.

Federal Minister Sikander Bosan said he owned 100 tolas of gold worth Rs 0.6 million only while MNA Aijaz Chaudhry stated he possessed 20 tolas of gold worth Rs 1 million.

The most interesting fact was that most of the parliamentarians and senators didn’t reveal the kind of businesses they were running in Pakistan. Thus, leaving the section blank.

Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also left the business section blank, stating that he doesn’t have a business in Pakistan or London but mentioned the address of a flat in London that he owned. He showed a net value of assets worth Rs 330 million. 

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Farhatullah Babar, Ishaq Dar and Mushahid Hussain are also among those politicians who left the business section blank.

Reported by Rauf Klasra (Editor Investigation, Dunya News) 

Source:http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/206146-Millionaire-MPs-sans-business#.Ur1nAqgSWqj