PTI moves to withdraw resignations of remaining MNAs

ISLAMABAD: More than 40 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs—whose resignations are yet to be accepted—have decided to return to the National Assembly in line with the instruction of the party chief, and requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to not de-notify them if NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf approves their resignations.

The decision had been taken to get rid of “fake” opposition leader and to prevent “lotay (turncoats)” from voting in favour of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in vote of confidence, said senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Monday.

He added 45 lawmakers had decided to take back their resignations so that the party could take the posts of the leader of the opposition and parliamentary party leader. However, PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar put the number of lawmakers at 44. Taking to Twitter, Asad Umar announced that the remaining 44 MNAs of the party had decided to take back their decision of leaving the assembly.

“An email has been sent to the speaker,” said the PTI leader. He also shared the names of the MNAs who have withdrawn their resignations.

The PTI made the request after it informed the electoral body that their MNAs were withdrawing their resignations and the NA speaker had been informed about it.The MNAs submitted the plea in a meeting with the members of the electoral body after their protest outside the ECP building. They approached the ECP after the authorities restricted them from entering Parliament House earlier in the day.

Following the protest, PTI leader Malik Aamir Dogar and Riaz Fitiyana were summoned inside the ECP building for a meeting.

The PTI lawmakers requested the ECP in their plea that they should not be “de-notified” if the NA speaker accepts their resignations. Dogar said they were at the ECP to inform the electoral body about the decision to retract resignations.

Earlier, the PTI MNAs staged a sit-in outside the NA speaker’s house after they were denied entry into Ashraf’s residence when they demanded they wanted to meet the custodian of the house or secretary regarding their resignations. They were also restricted from entering the Parliament House. PTI MNA Lal Chand Malhi said Khan had decided that the resignations should be retracted.

The development came after NA Speaker Ashraf, last week, accepted the resignations of 70 PTI MNAs. The speaker first accepted 34 resignations on January 17 and then 35 more three days later. The ECP had immediately de-notified the MNAs after the speaker sent their resignations.–News Desk