PTI MNAs are expected to personally confirm any upcoming resignations.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi to lead 123 Representatives of the PTI in the National Assembly.
ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of several months and repeated demands from the party leadership to accept their resignations, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislators have opted to personally appear before National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf on December 22 (Thursday) to verify them.
The choice was made a few days after the party sent a letter to the speaker of the NA requesting that the remaining resignations of PTI legislators be accepted.
According to sources, 123 members who left the NA in large numbers after PTI leader Imran Khan was ousted will gather at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad before entering the house.
The lawmakers will be led by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI and the parliamentary leader who was appointed a day earlier.
According to PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, who was speaking to the media in Lahore on Tuesday, the party has begun the process of having its MNAs resign from their positions. He also called on the NA speaker to accept their resignations.
“We want the NA and provincial assembly elections to be held on the same day,” he stated.
Imran further stated that party legislators will visit the NA and request that their resignations be accepted during his presentation on December 17.
It is important to remember that 123 PTI MNAs’ resignations were accepted by former NA deputy speaker Qasim Sur. On July 27, however, the speaker in place opted to confirm the resignations and only accepted the resignations of 11 legislators.
Later, on August 1, the PTI contested the action before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court, however, denied the petition and ruled that the deputy speaker’s acceptance of the resignations of PTI legislators was illegal.
The party then filed a motion with the Supreme Court asking it to overturn the IHC judgement because it was “vague, superficial, and against the law.” The choice has not yet been made.
The current NA speaker reaffirmed earlier this week that the resignations would not be accepted unless it was clear that the widespread resignation did not occur as a result of any pressure.
