ISLAMABAD: After resignations of 35 senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers were accepted on Tuesday evening, the ruling rainbow coalition of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has decided not to contest the resultant by-elections.

This was decided by the PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday, after consulting with all parties who have gathered under the coalition’s umbrella. Rehman conducted the consultations after news surfaced that National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf had accepted 35 resignations submitted by PTI parliamentarians.

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Addressing the Majlis-e-Shoora of his party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, Rehman said that PDM parties will not participate in the by-elections on the vacant seats, giving the PTI a chance to easily return to the house.

It is pertinent to note that the resignations include senior PTI lawmakers including PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, former education minister Shafqat Mahmood, former railways and interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and others.