Not received LHC order suspending resignations of 43 PTI MNAs: NA speaker

A day after the Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the de-notification orders of 43 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Thursday that the NA Secretariat had not yet received the high court's order.

On Wednesday, the LHC had suspended the resignations of 43 Pakistan PTI lawmakers, and also put by-elections in 43 constituencies on hold.

In a video message today, the NA speaker said that he had not received the LHC’s order nor was it in his knowledge. “The order is not with us," he said.

Once he recieves the verdict, "it will be thoroughly read and then the decision regarding the entry of the members will be taken,” he added.

The PTI had resigned en masse from the lower house of Parliament following the ouster of PTI chief Imran Khan in April last year.

Since then, the resignation of a total of 80 MNAs has been accepted – 69 were accepted last month and 11 in July last year. These members were de-notified by the ECP immediately after the speaker accepted them.

44 PTI MNAs to withdraw resignation from NA: Asad Umar

However, later, PTI's Asad Umar said that some PTI lawmakers decided to withdraw their resignations from the National Assembly on orders of former prime minister and party chairman Imran Khan after the speaker refused to accept all the resignations together.

In a tweet, he added that emails in this regard have been sent to the NA speaker.