NA Speaker to again summon PTI MNAs to verify resignations

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf will once again summon Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs, who had submitted resignations earlier this year, for verification, ARY News reported on Sunday.

In the letter issued by the National Assembly (NA) to PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Secretariat mentioned Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, 2007 as the legislation requiring the speaker to satisfy himself that the “letter of resignation is voluntary and genuine”.

پاکستان تحریک انصاف کے ممبران قومی اسمبلی کے استعفوں کے حوالے سے ترجمان قومی اسمبلی کا بیان

میڈیا میں چلنے والی پاکستان تحریک انصاف کے حوالے سے ان مبینہ اطلاعات کے تناظر میں جن میں پی ٹی آئی کی جانب سے اس کے اراکین اسمبلی کےاسپیکر قومی اسمبلی کے سامنے مشترکہ طور پر پیش … https://t.co/1Tl6XQbV9a

— National Assembly of 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) December 25, 2022

The letter – shared on Twitter – further stated that the PTI MNAs were given time from June 6 to 10 to confirm the genuineness of their resignation in person but “none of them came for verification of their resignations”.

Without giving any date, the letter stated, NA Speaker shall once again invite the MNAs concerned to appear “one by one for verification of their resignations”.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shah Mahmood Qureshi had penned down a letter to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, urging him to verify the remaining resignations of party lawmakers.

The former federal minister wrote a letter to NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, noting that party MNAs can return to National Assembly for verification of their resignations.

In the letter, Shah Mahmood Qureshi pointed out that 123 PTI MNAs submitted written resignations to former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on April 11, 2022. “The lawmakers had submitted resignations as per constitution and assembly rules”, the letter added.

“The resignations were accepted by the then Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on April 13, 2022,” it noted, adding that Secretary National Assembly Mr Tahir Hussain had also issued a notification in this regard.

Earlier, NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had said that he will not accept the resignations if he finds lawmakers facing any kind of pressure.

NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said in a statement that the dissolution of the assembly before the completion of the tenure will not strengthen democracy. He added that the option of backdoor talks is always available for all stakeholders.