ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) is the ‘richest’ political party of Pakistan with assets worth around Rs 53 million while Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) is a ‘poor’ political party with only Rs 0.4 million in its kitty.
According to the details of political parties assets, submitted in the electoral body for the year 2011, the PPPP’s assets are estimated at only Rs 435,000, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has assets counted at Rs 33.5 million. The assets of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) are recorded at Rs 17.8 million. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI’s) net assets worth over Rs 10. The assets details of other two political parties submitted with the ECP are Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam worth Rs 2.75 million, and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) worth Rs 500,000.
The wealth details of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are not available as no such party with this name is registered with the ECP except PPP-P.
Despite that these details look highly dubious, the election commission seems to lack will and capability to take action against these parties as well as those which did not submit their assets details at all.
The apparent negligence of the electoral body can be judged from the very fact that its media officials leak out to media the assets details of the year 2011 in 2013. Only recently, the election commission woke up to ask the political parties to submit Annual Statements of Accounts for the last year while making frivolous announcements that those political parties would not be allotted electoral symbols that fail to submit the Statements of Accounts and did not conduct intra-party elections. It appears that the commission would meet embarrassment the way it has had been habitual of facing criticism in the past but its visibly thick-skinned baboos would perhaps never learn.