Taj Afridi, PTI’s Azam Swati declared richest senators

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan has released the details of assets and liabilities of senators for the year 2019.

Independent senator from the erstwhile FATA Taj Muhammad Afridi is the richest senator with assets worth Rs1.22 billion followed by PTI Senator and Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Muhammad Azam Khan Swati with Rs1.21 billion worth assets.

In sharp contrast, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Senator Sirajul Haq has only Rs0.3 million worth of assets, an inherited piece of land and Rs0.6 million in his bank account.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani owns a business company in Malaysia, which has not been operational since 2008. He owns assets worth Rs100 milion including over 23,000 kanals of agricultural land, while his wife has gold jewelry weighing 1.5 kilograms

The assets and liabilities for the year 2019 are released by the ECP as the law binds every lawmaker to submit his/her statement of assets and liabilities every year. According to the submitted details, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to be the favourite foreign destination of lawmakers for investment in business and properties, while some have their assets in other countries including the US and the UK.

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Senator Taj Afridi also possesses Rs167.11 million assets in the UAE besides owning agricultural land. He runs businesses in Pakistan worth Rs111.45 million as well as investments valuing at Rs131.26 million. His liabilities are Rs376.51 million (business loans).

Senator Azam Swati owns assets worth Rs1.21 billion in addition to owning ten properties in the United States and the UAE valuing Rs701.92 million in addition to an investment of over Rs475 million. He also owns Rs460.70 million worth of properties in Pakistan

He brought assets worth Rs205.25 million abroad and has Rs59 million cash in hand, and Rs62.45 million in his and his spouse’s bank accounts. His four vehicles are valued ar Rs59.46 million. He also has liabilities of Rs811.23 million abroad and the value of his assets minus liabilities is Rs1.21 billion.

Another PTI Senator Muhammad Ayub from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa owns a $1 million house and business worth six million UAE dirhams in Dubai in addition to an investment of one million pounds in the United Kingdom.

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The number of properties owned by the PML-N Senator Rahila Magsi in the UAE has doubled. Another PML-N Senator Nuzhat Sadiq owns a house in the US in the name of her spouse and the cost valued between Rs3.6 million and Rs20 million. Shaheen Khalid Butt of the PML-N owns two properties in the United States, while the present market value of properties is stated to be $2.7million.

PPP Senator Rehman Malik owns a house in London valuing 1.3 million pounds. He also has secured a mortgage of 1.1 million pounds. He has 53,520 dirhams in a joint account with his spouse. He is director of a UK-registered think tank Global Security Advisers. He holds shares in Green Plus worth 300,000 dollars.

PML-N Senator Musadik Malik and his wife have 25 percent share each in an apartment in Bahrain, while the total value of shares held in the property by the couple is estimated at Rs27 million.

PML-N’s Chaudhry Tanveer Khan’s agricultural property is worth Rs36.7 million, while his non-agricultural property values more than Rs47.4 million. He also has over Rs37.9 million in his bank account.