Change of mind: Defection of Siraj lends credence to PTI’s claims, says Alvi

Parliamentary officials say it validates the speaker’s demand to verify resignations individually

ISLAMABAD:

The issue of en masse versus individual verification of resignations submitted by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) lawmakers in the National Assembly took a new turn on Thursday after PTI MNA Siraj Khan wrote to the NA speaker claiming he had not tendered his resignation voluntarily. The PTI and the government both claim that this serves to vindicate their respective stances on the matter.

Siraj Muhammad Khan, won from NA-6 (Nowshera II) with 54,266 votes in the 2013 general elections. He submitted his resignation from the National Assembly, along with 22 other lawmakers of the PTI, on August 22. On Thursday, he wrote to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq informing him that he had not submitted his resignation of his own volition and asked the speaker not to accept his resignation.

Sadiq accepted Khan’s application

Officials said that Siraj Khan had not withdrawn his resignation, but had simply informed the speaker of the circumstances under which he had resigned. Khan said that he had been forced to resign from the National Assembly.

Khan’s letter substantiates the speaker’s insistence to verify the resignations individually, officials said.

On October 29, 25 PTI lawmakers arrived at Parliament House to verify their resignations but the PTI insisted on en masse exercise while the speaker insisted on verifying them individually. They reached an impasse and the speaker then referred the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).  MNAs Saleemur Rehman, Qaiser Jamal, Shehryar Khan Afridi, Siraj Khan and PTIchairman Imran Khan did not show up at the parliament that day.

PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi had explained that their absence did not mean that they opposed the party’s decision.

Following the latest development, the PTI has commented that Khan’s letter has only lent credence to their apprehensions of “horse trading”.

Dr Arif Alvi of the PTI said that they had apprehensions that the government was trying to buy out the loyalties of PTI lawmakers. “The government would try to buy the loyalties of our lawmakers... Siraj’s letter to the speaker proves that,? he said. He told The Express Tribune that this was why the PTI insisted on en masse verification as opposed to individual verifications.

Responding to a question about the party’s future course of action, Dr Alvi said that Siraj  Khan was the fourth person to have gone against the party’s decision. He said the PTI will inform the speaker and the ECP that he was no longer a member of the PTI. A decision in this regard will be announced in a few days, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2014.