Question lingers over PTI MNAs’ resignations

ISLAMABAD:

The fate of the resignations of 123 MNAs of the PTI is hanging in the balance as neither have they appeared before the National Assembly speaker, nor has he accepted them and informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which would then hold by-elections to fill the vacant seats.

The resignations are pending with NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf. He had given a ruling that the resignations would only be accepted after the PTI MNAs appear in person before him and verified if they were “genuine and voluntary”.

The PTI MNAs had announced en masse resignations moments before Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the new prime minister on April 11 -- a day after PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan was voted out from the coveted slot through a no-confidence motion.

The PTI leaders say that their resignations were accepted by then deputy speaker Qasim Suri on April 14 Suri had made the decision in his capacity as the acting speaker.

However, the succeeding government made it clear that the resignations could not be considered valid unless they were verified.

Ashraf’s ruling had opened up the ‘chapter of the resignations' and it was conjectured that the process of verification would ‘deliberately’ take some time to give the newly-formed government some time to settle down.

Subsequently, the NA Secretariat had sent letters to all those who had resigned on April 11.

Paragraph (b) of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, reads that each lawmaker would get five minutes to individually confirm if they resigned voluntarily.

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However, no one appeared before Ashraf between June 6 and June 10 as former PM Imran had termed the move as a “major trap”.

The issue had surfaced after PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq had claimed on the floor of the House that several PTI MNAs called him to say that their resignations should not be accepted as they were given under pressure.

Sadiq, who has served as an NA speaker, had said that the verification was crucial as the resignations were given on cyclostyle papers when the rules stated that they should be in the members’ own handwriting.

Secondly, he had said, individual verification had not taken place -- an imperative part of the process.

Speculations were also swirling that three months after resigning, the PTI was reconsidering its decision to quit the assembly.

However, the PTI leaders are adamant that they had already resigned and would not return to the assembly before fresh general elections were held.

Imran has been claiming that his exit from the post was part of a “foreign conspiracy” plotted in Washington to overthrow his government with the help of the opposition parties.

After his ouster from the slot, he had asked his party’s MNAs to tender their resignations and refused to accept newly elected PM Shehbaz.

Since then the majority of PTI MNAs have not attended the assembly sessions while those who did not resign are sitting on the opposition benches along with a few others.