ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who happens to be the only declared billionaire in the province’s legislature, is also the wealthiest MPA in the country, with the worth of his total assets coming to Rs2.38 billion.

According to statements of assets of members of the provincial assemblies (MPAs) for the financial year ending on June 30, 2019, Mr Khan, who was elected from PK-09 (Swat), owns agricultural property worth Rs2.33bn and has Rs40 million in cash and Rs7.7m in two bank accounts. However, he owns no car.

Awami National Party’s Bahadar Khan (PK-16, Lower Dir) is the second richest MPA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as his assets are worth Rs894m. He owns 20 properties worth Rs875m, with just one piece of agricultural land of unspecified size valued at Rs410m.

Syed Fakhar Jehan, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) legislator from PK-21 (Buner), has properties worth Rs766.80m, including shops and agricultural and non-agricultural land. He owns a Land Cruiser and another unspecified motor car. He holds Rs1.5m in cash and just Rs135,000 in his bank account.

Shakeel Ahmad, a member of the provincial cabinet, owns 18 plots in Islamabad and Gwadar, all valued at only Rs3.1m

Sher Azam Khan, a PPP lawmaker from PK-87 (Bannu), is the owner of assets valued at Rs664.63m. He owns properties worth Rs521m and has over Rs139m in cash or in bank accounts.

The properties owned by him include 1,865 kanals of agricultural land, a seven-kanal house in Lakki Marwat, a 1.5-kanal house in Islamabad and plots in Ghora Gali and Bansara Gali, Murree.

The assets owned by Fazal Hakim Khan, a PTI member from PK-05 (Swat), have grown in worth to Rs594m from Rs528m in 2018, registering an increase of Rs66m in a single year.

He has put the ‘cost’ of his properties — including 24 plots, two commercial buildings, a house, a beverage factory and three restaurants — at Rs573m, which in the previous year’s documents was Rs513m. In 2018, he owned 800 grams of gold valued at Rs4m. Now he owns 1kg of gold, the worth of which has been put at Rs7.40m.

Musawar Khan, a PTI lawmaker from PK-19 (Malakand), owns commercial, agricultural and residential properties worth Rs384m. He didn’t have a business in 2018 but now has started a business venture with an investment of Rs65m.

Riaz Khan, a PTI member from PK-20 (Buner), has assets worth Rs350m. He owns properties worth Rs307m and has invested Rs40m in marble business. Interestingly, he drives a 2009 model car valued at Rs1.2m and has no cash in hand or bank account.

Malak Badshah Saleh, a PPP legislator from PK-10 (Upper Dir), has not only changed the cost of his four properties this time but size of a plot as well. The cost of the four properties, including a 300-acre agricultural land and another 25-acre land, had been put at Rs130m in 2018. But now the size of the last plot has been put as 50 acres and the cost as Rs45m instead of Rs20m.

Mr Saleh owns assets worth Rs349.5m. He has a business capital of Rs215m and owns two pieces of agricultural land valued at Rs70m and Rs20m, respectively.

The overall cost of the four properties has been changed from Rs130m in 2018 to Rs215m. His investment in a construction company has risen from Rs130m to Rs145m.

Shakeel Ahmad, a member of the provincial cabinet, owns 18 plots of unspecified sizes — 11 in Islamabad and the rest in Gwadar. The cost of all the plots has been put at only Rs3.1m.

The worth of assets owned by leader of the opposition in the assembly Akram Durrani declined from Rs10m in 2018 to Rs7.75m in 2019. He held prize bonds of Rs3m in 2018 and now is keeping only about one-third of them.

He owns three houses and 462 kanals of land — all inherited, but has not mentioned the market value of the properties. He has Rs4.16m in cash but owns no car.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2020