NA speaker says 'convinced' 34 PTI MNAs wanted to resign

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Thursday that he accepted the resignations of 35 MNAs— 34 PTI lawmakers and Sheikh Rasheed— after he was "convinced" that they were not offered under any influence of pressure, Aaj News reported.

Talking to reporters in Islamabad, the NA speaker said: "Lawmakers who openly asked for their resignations to be accepted and convinced him are part of the list."

When asked if the resignations were accepted as Imran Khan has hinted at returning to the parliament, the speaker said a number of lawmakers have contacted him and told him that they are still considering. "That's why their resignations were not accepted," he said.

The development comes days after the NA speaker accepted the resignations of 34 Pakistan PTI lawmakers who had collectively resigned from the NA after a vote of no confidence against their party chief Imran Khan proved successful in April 2022.

The unexpected development came amid reports that the PTI was considering returning to the NA, backtracking month-long demand for the approval of PTI lawmakers’ resignations en masse.

On Monday, Imran said that the PTI's return to the parliament was required for the discussion of an interim set-up with the treasury benches.

“If we do not go back to the assembly, they will form an interim setup after discussing the matter with Raja Riaz,” Imran suggested, adding: “We are planning a return to the national assembly.”

Imran said after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, he now planned to give Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a ‘tough time’ in the centre.

Imran said they were preparing for a vote of confidence in the National Assembly. He was confident that PM Shehbaz will not be able to prove his majority.

For weeks, a deadlock persisted between the PTI and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on the procedure of verification of resignations.

NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf maintained that PTI lawmakers will be summoned individually for verification of their resignations.

On the other hand, PTI and its allies continued to demand that the speaker should accept en bloc resignations.

Last month, a PTI delegation met the National Assembly speaker at the Parliament House on the issue of the confirmation of the resignations of the PTI lawmakers. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani was also present at the meeting.

The PTI delegation led by former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser consisted of former deputy speaker Qasim Suri, Malik Amir Dogar, Amjad Khan Niazi, Faheem Khan, Dr Shabbir Hasan Lal Milli, Attaullah, and Tahir Iqbal.

The meeting between the PTI delegation and the speaker ended inconclusively as the latter refused to accept en-masse resignations of the PTI members of the National Assembly (MNAs).

Speaking to the media after the meeting, the National Assembly speaker said that the PTI delegation wanted the resignations of its lawmakers to be accepted in one go. He said that the meeting was held in an amicable atmosphere.

The speaker said that the resignations of PTI members could only be accepted under the procedure laid down in the Constitution and the Rules of Business of the National Assembly. He said that under Article 64 of the Constitution, a resignation letter must be handwritten by the member. He said, “I will invite the PTI members for personal verification of their resignations,” he said.

Referring to the case of the Islamabad High Court, the Speaker said that the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly is not a post office.

He said that Article 64 of the Constitution and Rule 43 of the Rules of Business of the National Assembly, 2007 lay down the clear procedure for confirming the resignations.

Earlier, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry dispelled the impression that the PTI lawmakers, who resigned from the National Assembly seats, were receiving salaries and perks. “The government misquoted the Supreme Court’s remarks that the PTI legislators were not joining the Assembly proceedings, but still receiving salaries and perks,” he said.

“You never know government foreign trips might be funded by our money.”

He averred that they have already resigned from the National Assembly; “but unfortunately some institutions, especially the Election Commission of Pakistan, acted as a subsidiary organization of the PML-N and only accepted resignations of certain lawmakers”. “

We are only demanding acceptance of all our resignations and subsequently, elections are held on the vacant seats,” he added.