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NA Passes Elections Amendment Bill Allowing Secrecy of Lawmakers’ Assets
National Assembly passes Elections Amendment Bill 2026 allowing MPs to keep asset details confidential for security reasons, despite PTI opposition. Bill now heads to Senate.
ND
by News Desk
2026-01-21
NA Passes Elections Amendment Bill Allowing Secrecy of Lawmakers’ Assets

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, paving the way for parliamentarians to keep their asset declarations from being made public under specific circumstances, amid strong opposition from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Under Section 137 of the Elections Act, all members of the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies are required to submit annual statements of their assets and liabilities — including those of their spouses and dependent children — to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by December 31 each year. Section 138 currently mandates the ECP to publish these declarations in the official gazette.

The newly passed amendment proposes a change to Section 138, introducing a proviso allowing the speaker of the National Assembly or the chairman of the Senate to bar the public publication of a member’s asset details if disclosure is deemed to pose a “serious threat to the life or safety” of the lawmaker or their family.

According to the amendment, a parliamentarian must submit a written application, after which the speaker or chairman — through a ruling delivered in the chamber and for reasons recorded in writing — may determine that the asset statement should not be publicly disclosed for a period not exceeding one year at a time.

However, the lawmaker will still be required to submit a complete and true statement of assets and liabilities confidentially to the ECP.

The bill’s statement of objectives and reasons said the amendment seeks to strike a balance between transparency and personal security.

“While the publication of statements of assets and liabilities serves a vital role in promoting public accountability, enhancing trust in public office, and ensuring good governance, it is recognised that unrestricted or excessive disclosure could potentially compromise the personal security and privacy of parliamentarians and their families,” the statement read.

The bill also proposes replacing the word “Supreme” with “Federal Constitutional” in several provisions of the Elections Act to reflect the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court under the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The legislation had previously been taken up by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in August last year but failed to reach consensus after opposition from both PML-N and PTI members against a move introduced by PPP lawmakers Shazia Marri and Syed Naveed Qamar.

This time, however, only the PTI opposed the bill, while other parties supported it.

During Wednesday’s session, Standing Committee Chairperson Rana Iradat Sharif Khan presented the committee’s report on the proposed legislation, following which it was debated and passed by the House.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for approval and will require presidential assent before it becomes law.
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