-In first phase 11 lawmakers registrations accepted
-NA Speaker to ask ECP for de-notification
-PDM huddle agrees over tightening noose around opposition
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: The coalition government Thursday accepted the resignations of 11 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of the National Assembly.
The government accepted the resignations of 11 PTI MNAs including Shireen Mazari, Ali Muhammad Khan, Ijaz Shah, Farrukh Habib, Shandana Gulzar, Fazal Muhammad, Fakhar Zaman, Abdul Shakoor Shad, Jameel Ahmed and Akram Cheema.
According to initial details the government has accepted the resignations of 11 lawmakers and more resignations will be accepted in phases.
NA Speaker held consultations with Khursheed Shah, Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Saad Rafique before accepting the resignations. The NA speaker will send a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to denitrify the PTI lawmakers.
Earlier in the day, it was learnt that the federal government has decided to accept the resignations of some PTI MNAs.
According to details, the decision was taken during a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) under the chairmanship of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Earlier, NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf summoned PTI MNAs for the verification of their resignations but no one turned up. The NA Secretariat sent letters to all PTI members who tendered resignations on April 11, 2022.
In April, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had decided to resign from National Assembly after former prime minister Imran Khan said that he would not sit in the assemblies.
PTI members after approval of the party’s leadership tendered their resignations from the National Assembly. PTI MNA Murad Saeed was the first PTI MNA who submitted his resignation to the National Assembly’s speaker.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday urged former prime minister Imran Khan to dissolve assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab — where his party
is in power — saying that it was a prerequisite of his demand for general elections.
The minister made the statement at a press conference in Islamabad as he insisted that the PTI chief would “never prefer early polls” and that “he is making such demands only to discredit the government.”
Sanaullah said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif wanted the country to move towards elections, however, “this man [Imran] is asking for the sacking of chief election commissioner without realising that fact that the CEC cannot be replaced without fulfillment of a required constitutional process.”
“The nomination for the current CEC was proposed by Imran when he was in the government, and now he could only be removed through the consent of judicial council,” he added.
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman has asserted that the coalition government would complete its constitutional tenure and the next general elections will be held on time.
The JUI-F chief made the announcement after chairing the alliance’s top brass meeting following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Punjab chief minister (CM) election case.
The meeting was attended by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, party vice-president Maryam Nawaz. The PDM reiterated that the elections will be held on time and the assemblies will complete their tenure.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that key decisions were taken during the sitting as well as the two resolutions were adopted unanimously by the forum.
“It was decided that the federal government will send a Presidential Ordinance to the Supreme Court for the interpretation of Article 63A via a full court bench,” he said.
The resolution stated that as per the Constitution of Pakistan, the executive and judiciary have been given responsibilities and no institution should cross the domain of the other. The PDM expressed concern over the recent SC verdict which created “chaos, confusion and political crisis” in the country.
It further stated that the different standards of justice and interpretations have justified the concerns of the ruling coalition, therefore, the presidential reference should be sent to the Supreme Court as soon as possible.
In the second resolution, Maulana Fazl said, the alliance demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately announce its verdict on the prohibited funding case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The PDM president alleged that the PTI received funds from Indian and Israeli citizens and proof of it was presented during the foreign funding case hearings. “This important case related to the financial affairs of political parties should be announced immediately.”
