NA speaker swiftly accepts resignations of 35 more PTI lawmakers

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday accepted resignations of 35 more lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as Imran Khan-led party plans to return to the assembly to put Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to test through a no-confidence vote bid. 

The development comes a day after the speaker defended his previous move of accepting the resignation of 34 PTI MNAs and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, saying he approved the resignation of the lawmakers who provided valid reasons for quitting the assembly. 

The PTI MNA and allies submitted their resignations in April last after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister through a no-trust vote. 

“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 letters of respective resignations were submitted,” the NA secretariat states in a press release.

The speaker has approved the resignations of Dr Haider Ali Khan, Saleem Rehman, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Mehboob Shah, Muhammad Bashir Khan, Junaid Akbar, Sher Akbar Khan, Ali Khan Jadoon, Engr Usman Khan Tarakai and Mujahid Ali among others.

The general election have become talk of the town since the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly as the PTI has announced testing PM Shehbaz Sharif s nerves in the NA through a vote of confidence. In another move, the PTI vowed to sit in the NA again on the condition that Leader of the Opposition, parliamentray leader and Public Accounts Committee chairman in the NA should be from the PTI.

On the other hand, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the PTI would be welcomed in the NA but there would be no discussion on interim government set-up before the government’s term expires in August. 

Mr Khan had repeatedly claimed that the general election could be held in March or April this year. He had been calling for early elections in the country since his ouster through a no-confidence vote in April last year. 

Earlier, the PTI and the ruling coalition in the NA had been at daggers drawn over the speaker s delay in acceptance of resignations by the PTI MNAs. On July 28, the speaker accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers. The PTI challenged the move in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in August but court dismissed the petition, saying the political dispute should be resolved in parliament.