National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Thursday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers will be summoned individually for verification of their resignations.
His comments came in a meeting with PTI delegation, led by Asad Qaiser, held to discuss the issue of verification of resignations.
The PTI had announced mass resignations from the National Assembly in April, a day after party chief Imran Khan’s ouster as the prime minister through a no-confidence vote and shortly before Shehbaz Sharif was elected as his successor.
On July 28, the National Assembly speaker accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers who had resigned after the vote of no confidence against the former PM.
After the meeting, Ashraf remarked in a statement to the media that “lawmakers of one party cannot decide to mass resign suddenly because it puts pressure on the administration. Each MNA is supported by thousands of people, and mass resignations are against the law.”
According to Ashraf, who shared meeting details, 127 PTI members requested that he accept their resignations as a group.
He emphasized that “every MNA will have to write a separate resignation” and added that dialogue, not resignations, would be the answer to Pakistan’s problems.
He stressed that there are some rules and regulations and limitations for the approval of resignations.
“The speaker has the responsibility to make sure that the [resigning] MNAs are not under pressure,” he added. He shared he had urged PTI members to return to the Parliament.
Ashraf said that a decision regarding the confirmation of resignations would be taken as per the Constitution and the rules of the National Assembly.
On July 28, the National Assembly speaker accepted the resignations of 11 PTI lawmakers who had resigned after the vote of no confidence against Imran Khan.
