Decision on PTI MNAs’ resignations ‘in early Dec’

ISLAMABAD: The final decision regarding resignations tendered by 123 PTI members of the National Assembly would be taken in early December as the ruling alliance has not taken any decision about rejection or acceptance of their request for quitting the house. 

Highly-placed sources of the National Assembly Secretariat told The News here on Saturday that the impression was given by some PTI circles recently that the parties of the ruling coalition had decided to not accept any resignation of the PTI members who tendered them on April 10 just before the ouster of their government through a vote of no-trust.

“No such decision has been taken since NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf had already accepted the resignation of eleven of the legislators.” The formula applied to the eleven PTI members would be applicable to all other resignations as well. It’s the question of timing, the sources said, adding that about three dozen NA members belonging to the PTI have approached the speaker office to express their intension for returning to the house. They urged the speaker to explicitly reject all the resignations instead of making piecemeal decisions. The sources reminded that the NA speaker had to take the decision within 14 weeks from now, otherwise no by-election would be possible in the remaining period of the assembly in line with the restrictions imposed by the Constitution. The sources pointed out that the MNAs who approached the NA Secretariat were not hopeful for PTI tickets in the next general elections or they didn’t intend to contest the polls on PTI tickets. Meanwhile, political sources said if the PTI MNAs opted to return to the house, they would have to elect their new parliamentary leader since Imran Khan had been stripped of National Assembly membership in the Toshakhana (gift depositary) case by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). It is unlikely that the PTI would return to the National Assembly although the apex court’s judges and the army chief have advised it to return to the legislature. The PTI leadership thinks that any such return wouldn’t suit it politically. The ruling PDA has no intention to give face saving to Imran Khan for calling off his long march.

Talks would be possible only after the PTI fully came out of agitational mode. The proposal for early elections wouldn’t be on the table even if negotiations took place after calling off the long march, the sources said and added that the PTI leadership would have to face strict accountability from the next month and Imran Khan would have to face probes being conducted by the agencies on account of corruption. He might be put behind bars in the process, the sources said.