PTI lawmakers to verify ‘in person resignations with NA speaker’

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) decision to dissolve assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the party's parliamentarians will be submitting their written resignations to the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in person.

Sources told Geo News that the decision of PTI's National Assembly members came in their bid to also simultaneously request verification of their resignations.

The party's sources also confirmed that their 123 MNAs would go to the NA speaker to verify their resignations on December 22. They added that the lawmakers would assemble at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad before going to the parliament.

The MNAs plan on going to parliament under the leadership of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

A day earlier, Qureshi replaced PTI Chairman Imran Khan as the party's parliamentary group leader in the house.

However, the NA speaker rejected Senator Shibli Faraz's application seeking acceptance of PTI MNAs' resignations, saying any decision in this regard would be within constitutional bounds.

The speaker said that many PTI lawmakers have privately urged him not to accept their resignations. In such a situation, the MNA must approach the speaker in person and verify their handwritten resignations, Pervaiz added.

Meanwhile, PTI's MPAs in Balochistan have divided into two factions over the PTI chief's decision to resign from all assemblies. One group of MPAs led by PTI Parliamentary Leader Naseebullah Murree favoured the resignations, while the other led by MPA Yar Muhammad Rind opposed the idea.

In an interview on Sunday, Chief Minister Punjab Parvez Elahi — a strong ally of the PTI — also claimed that 99% of people in the country are against the dissolution of assemblies.