PHC irked by PTI lawmakers' request to suspend NA resignations

Court inquires 'why did party members resign if they now want to go back to the assembly?'

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) judge on Thursday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers think the National Assembly resignations process is a "child's play" as they now want to return to the lower house. 

Justice Ejaz Anwar made the remarks during a hearing on petitions against the acceptance of resignations of PTI members of the NA.

As the proceedings began, Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan inquired why did the former lawmakers resign if they now want to go back to the assembly.

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To this, the lawyer replied that the members had resigned in protest of Imran Khan's ouster from the premier's office. 

Irked at the reply, JusticeAnwar remarked that the PTI members “think that this is child's play, earlier they used to say that the resignations should be accepted. They used to go to the speaker in a form of a procession and now they want to return to the NA”.

The former ruling party's counsel also requested the court to postpone by-polls that are scheduled to take place on March 16.

Justice Anwar stated that he has been appointed as the judge of the Election Tribunal, therefore, another bench will hear the case on March 3 (tomorrow).

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The resignations of the PTI MNAs were approved in four phases since July 2022 – 11 in the first phase; 35 each in the second and third phases and 43 in the fourth one.

The lawmakers had resigned from the lower house of parliament in protest against the ouster of Imran Khan as the prime minister through a vote of confidence in April last year.

A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended the acceptance notification of the resignations of three PTI lawmakers, barring the ECP from conducting by-polls on their seats.