ISLAMABAD: A deadlock persisted on Thursday between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegation and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on the procedure of verification of resignations as the speaker wants the confirmation of resignations of the PTI members individually, whereas, the delegation insisted the speaker to accept en bloc resignations.

The PTI delegation, Thursday, 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).

National Assembly Speaker Ashraf told the PTI delegation that the party’s lawmakers would be summoned individually for verification of their resignations as the latter insisted on them being accepted in one go.

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 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.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022