The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the membership of 261 lawmakers of the senate, and national and provincial assemblies for failing to submit their statements of assets and liabilities.
According to ECP's notification, the membership of seven senators, 71 National Assembly members, 84 lawmakers of Punjab Assembly, 50 members of Sindh Assembly, 38 provincial assembly members of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 11 legislators of Balochistan have been suspended.
The notification stated that the lawmakers "shall cease to function as such members with immediate effect and till such statements are submitted by them".
The suspended parliamentarians include former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, minister of state for home affairs Talal Chaudhry, Religious Affairs minister Sardar Yousaf and former National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza.
In 2002, the former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf had introduced the Representation of People Act, according to which, all parliamentarians are required to submit details of their assets, including those of their spouses and children to the ECP by September 30 every year.
Last year, 336 lawmakers were suspended by the ECP for failure to submit their financial statements to the commission.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)