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Thursday November 07, 2024

NA speaker accepts resignations of 35 more PTI MNAs

Number of PTI members whose resignations have been accepted by Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf has reached 80

By Waqar Satti
January 20, 2023

Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf chairs a session of the National Assembly in this file photo. —APP
Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf chairs a session of the National Assembly in this file photo. —APP

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf Friday accepted the resignations of 35 more Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, dealing a massive blow to Imran Khan's plan to dislodge the Shehbaz Sharif government.

The number of PTI members whose resignations have been accepted by the speaker so far has reached 80. The PTI had resigned en masse from the NA after the PTI chairman was ousted through a no-confidence motion in April last year.

On Tuesday, Ashraf approved the resignations of 35 MPS including Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid after a delay of more than six months. On July 28, the resignations of 11 PTI MPs were approved on which by-elections were also held in October.

“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 letter of respective resignations were submitted,” a statement issued by the National Assembly Secretariat today stated.

Here's the list of PTI lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted:

NoNameConstituency
01Dr Haider Ali Khan
NA-2
02Saleem Rehman
NA-3
03Sahibzada Sibghatullah
NA-5
04Mehboob Shah
NA-6
05Muhammad Bashir Khan
NA-7
06Junaid Akbar
NA-8
07Sher Akbar Khan
NA-9
08Ali Khan Jadoon
NA-16
09Engr Usman Khan Tarakai
NA-19
10Mujahid Ali
NA-20
11Arbab Amir Ayub
NA-28
12Sher Ali Arbab
NA-30
13Shahid Ahmed
NA-34
14Gul Dad Khan
NA-40
15Sajid Khan
NA-42
16Mohammad Iqbal Khan
NA-44
17Aamer Mehmood Kiani
NA-61
18Syed Faiz ul Hassan
NA-70
19Chaudhry Shoukat Ali Bhatti
NA-87
20Umar Aslam Khan
NA-93
21Amjad Ali Khan
NA-96
22Khurram Shahzad
NA-107
23Faizullah
NA-109
24Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar
NA-135
25Syed Fakhar Imam
NA-150
26Zahoor Hussain Qureshi
NA-152
27Ibraheem Khan
NA-158
28Tahir Iqbal
NA-164
29Aurangzeb Khan Khichi
NA-165
30Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar
NA-177
31Abdul Majeed Khan
NA-187
32Andaleeb Abbas
Reserved seat
33Asma Qadeer
Reserved seat
34Maleeka Ali Bokhari
Reserved seat
35Munawara Bibi Baloch
Reserved seat

‘Surprise once more’

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Attaullah Tarar took a jibe at the PTI after the resignations were accepted.

Sharing a picture of the breaking news on Twitter, Tarar wrote: “While Khan sahib was holding meetings on returning to the NA, [we ensured] his return.”

“Now do you still want to come back?” he quipped.


PTI terms move ‘illegal and immoral’

A meeting of the PTI parliamentary committee was underway at the KP House in Islamabad when Raja Parvez Ashraf accepted their resignations.

Afterwards, the opposition members walked to the speaker’s chamber but he was not present in his office to meet them.

Later, speaking to the media outside the Parliament House, former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser condemned the decision taken by his successor, terming it as “illegal and immoral”.

Qaisar said that Ashraf had told them that the resignations will not be accepted unless he verifies them individually.

Berating the speaker's decision, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry questioned his claims that the PTI MNAs were in touch with him regarding their resignations.

Chaudhry further added that as 81 resignations have been accepted, “a date for the upcoming general elections should also be given now”.

Expressing his displeasure over the decision, the PTI leader blamed the current government for the political and economic crisis. "We are heading towards a Sri Lanka-like situation," he said.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the speaker first said that he cannot accept the resignations collectively.

"We decided to come to the meeting and he [the speaker] postponed it and when we came to the assembly, he accepted the resignations of 35 more MNAs," said Qureshi, demanding that the rest of the resignations should also be accepted.

The party's vice chairman said that the PTI wants snap polls so that the people can decide for themselves.