NA speaker accepts resignations of 35 more PTI lawmakers

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ISLAMABAD: The political uncertainty continues in Pakistan after the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz on Friday accepted the resignations of 35 more Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs.

The PTI had resigned from the lower house of parliament after the ouster of PTI chief Imran Khan in April 2022.

According to a press release issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, the resignations were accepted in accordance with clause (1) of Article 64 of the Constitution and rules of procedure and conduct of Business in the NA.

“In accordance with clause (1) of Article 64 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, read with Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly of Pakistan 2007, the Hon’ble Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan has been pleased to accept the resignations of the following Members of the National Assembly with effect from April 11, 2022, the date when the letter of respective resignations was submitted,” said the statement.

The resignations had been accepted with effect from 11 April 2022, the date when the letters of respective resignations were submitted, said Radio Pakistan.

Following the approval of the resignations, the summary was sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to de-notify the PTI lawmakers.

Here’s the list of PTI lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted:

S.NoNameConstituency
01Dr Haider Ali KhanNA-2
02Saleem RehmanNA-3
03Sahibzada SibghatullahNA-5
04Mehboob ShahNA-6
05Muhammad Bashir KhanNA-7
06Junaid AkbarNA-8
07Sher Akbar KhanNA-9
08Ali Khan JadoonNA-16
09Engr Usman Khan TarakaiNA-19
10Mujahid AliNA-20
11Arbab Amir AyubNA-28
12Sher Ali ArbabNA-30
13Shahid AhmedNA-34
14Gul Dad KhanNA-40
15Sajid KhanNA-42
16Mohammad Iqbal KhanNA-44
17Aamer Mehmood KianiNA-61
18Syed Faiz ul HassanNA-70
19Chaudhry Shoukat Ali BhattiNA-87
20Umar Aslam KhanNA-93
21Amjad Ali KhanNA-96
22Khurram ShahzadNA-107
23FaizullahNA-109
24Malik Karamat Ali KhokharNA-135
25Syed Fakhar ImamNA-150
26Zahoor Hussain QureshiNA-152
27Ibraheem KhanNA-158
28Tahir IqbalNA-164
29Aurangzeb Khan KhichiNA-165
30Makhdoom Khusro BakhtiarNA-177
31Abdul Majeed KhanNA-187
32Andaleeb AbbasReserved seat
33Asma QadeerReserved seat
34Maleeka Ali BokhariReserved seat
35Munawara Bibi BalochReserved seat

Earlier, Ashraf had stalled the process of accepting resignations after July 28 stating the remaining lawmakers would be summoned individually for verification. 

However, contrary to his claims he quickened the process by accepting the resignations of 34 PTI MNAs and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid earlier this week after an eight-month hiatus.

Soon after the PTI announced its return to the assembly and test the PM through a no-trust move, the government so far accepted 70 PTI resignations during the current week only.

Around 131 MNAs of the PTI had tendered their resignations en masse after Imran Khan’s government was ousted through a no-confidence motion in April last year.

By July 28, 2022, the NA speaker had accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers.

PTI calls govt’s move ‘illegal and immoral’

Speaking to the media outside the Parliament House, senior PTI leaders said the speaker retracted from his old stance by accepting the resignations of 35 more PTI lawmakers today.

Asad Qaiser, Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and others termed the government’s move “illegal and immoral”.

Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser condemned the decision and revealed that Ashraf had called the PTI leaders to the assembly and told them that the resignations would not be accepted unless he had a word with the MNAs himself separately.

“Were those whose resignations were accepted called by the Speaker?”Qaiser asked.

Berating the speaker’s decision, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said now that 81 resignations were accepted, the government must also give a date for the general elections.

Expressing his displeasure over the decision, the PTI leader blamed Islamabad for the political and economic crises in the country. 

“We are heading towards a Sri Lanka-like situation,” Chaudhry claimed.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the speaker first said that he cannot accept the resignations collectively.

“We decided to come to the meeting and he [the speaker] postponed it and when we came to the assembly, he accepted the resignations of 35 more MNAs,” said Qureshi, demanding that the rest of the resignations should also be accepted.

The party’s vice chairman said that the PTI wants snap polls so that the people can decide for themselves.