By Special Correspondent
Islamabad : Many members of the Sindh Assembly, emerging from remote and underdeveloped regions, have considerable wealth according to the information of their assets given to the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP).
The largest member of the assembly is Syed Murad Ali Shah, 82, who submitted a list of 27 properties and some 31 ancestral plots to the ECP. The properties he claims to own include one house each in Clifton and DHA, Karachi, and an apartment in Hyderabad.
The other properties he owns are mainly in his native areas, such as five ‘non-functioning’ cinemas, commercial markets, ice mills, a cotton mill and a gas station, all worth just Rs13.88 million.
Mr. Shah, MPA of PS-34, Naushahro Feroze, has announced that he owns six pieces of agricultural land, but apart from him, the other owners are dead. It has eight cars, including two tractors, Rs3.65m in banks and also carries Rs1.2m worth of arms.
The youngest MPA is 28-year-old Abbas Jafri, who lives in a 120-yard house that belongs to his aunt, and the value of his share is about Rs5m. It has Rs2.42m in cash or bank accounts and has invested Rs200,000 in prize bonds.
Mukesh Kumar Chawla, who occupies a seat reserved for minorities, has announced that he has Rs1.5m worth of weapons and ammunition.
Mr Chawla, a resident of DHA, Karachi, has a number of properties worth Rs10.72m in the country; however, his company is valued at Rs535m.
It has invested Rs5m in prize bonds and has Rs1.97m in cash or in the fund. The value of his household goods is Rs2m and the approximate value of his wife’s jewellery is Rs1.97m.
Giyanoo Mal, one of the only two non-Muslims to hold general seats in the assembly, is another wealthy legislature with a net worth of Rs426m.
Mr Mal, the PS-81 MPA, Jamshoro, owns a spinning mill and a winery worth Rs415.41m. He has Rs8.50m in cash or in bank and his family has jewellery worth Rs1.3m.
However, as per his declaration of properties, he does not own any car or motorcycle.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, an MPA from Jamshoro, owns a house in DHA, Karachi, worth Rs11.5m, and the two plots owned by his daughter are priced at Rs30m. He also has more than 51 acres of agricultural land in Sehwan, which his father gave him.
Mr. Shah has no investment or business within or outside the country and has not shown any significant source of income. The Chief Minister, however has Rs43.48m in bank accounts and Rs150,000 in cash.
It owns two luxury vehicles priced at Rs14.2m, while the family owns 100 tola of gold and Rs3m of household goods. He has no weapons or other costly properties.
One of the wealthiest MPAs is Ali Hassan of PS-78, Thatta, with a net value of around Rs538.8m. His total value was set at Rs480m in his previous declaration.
He has hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the districts of Shaheed Benazirabad and Thatta, with the exception of few commercial and residential properties.
Mr Hassan owns cattle and other animals valued at Rs15.8m and other agricultural and related facilities valued at Rs21.42m. It has more than Rs216m in cash or in bank. He also owns Rs1.7m worth of weapons.
Another rich MPA is former President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, whose net value is Rs396.36m. She also has Rs1.48m worth of weapons, though her husband Mir Munawar Ali Talpur, Mirpurkas MNA, does not have guns.
Former Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon is also a wealthy lawmaker. He and his wife own residential and commercial properties in Dubai worth around Rs170m, and their properties in Pakistan, including two houses in DHA, Karachi and agricultural land in Tharparkar, are estimated at around Rs30m.
His company in the UAE is worth about Rs3m, but Mr. Memon did not invest in the region.
He did not reveal any source of income, but he and his spouse had Rs95m cash in hand and Rs3.87m in bank.
The MPA from Kamber Shahdadkot, Mir Nadir Ali Magsi, and his family have a net value of around Rs340.30m. They own a house in Miami, Florida, and a flat in the name of his wife and daughter in Dubai, worth around 1,02m of dirham.
Mr Magsi and his family own around Rs79.69m of 10 non-agricultural properties in Pakistan. The family has personal belongings, including jewellery worth Rs9.5m.
Another wealthy lawmaker is Syed Firdous Shamim Naqvi, whose net value is valued at Rs334.08m. It holds five properties priced at Rs130.2m and a prize bond of Rs128.71m.
It has no assets or investments outside the country, and its three companies are worth Rs9.90m. His two vehicles are priced at Rs3.7m, and his family owns jewels worth Rs5.82m. It has more than Rs44.39m in cash or deposit.