Islamabad: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders to return to Parliament and said that he would not accept any resignations unless he was ‘satisfied’.

PTI leader Qasim Suri in his capacity as acting Speaker on April 13 had accepted  resignations of 123 PTI MNAs.

However on April 17 newly elected NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf directed assembly secretariat to deal with resignations of PTI lawmakers afresh and present them before him so that they could be treated as per law.

Speaker had come amid claims and speculations that some of former ruling party lawmakers had been willing to retract and have been conveying messages that their resignations should not be accepted.

Meanwhile, parliamentary sources disclosed that about 30 members of former ruling party did not want to resign from legislature and added that these lawmakers can directly reach out to NA Speaker to stop acceptance of their resignations.

Later, IHC termed  resignations of 123 PTI MNAs “Suspicious” after it was informed that parliamentarians were not called in personal capacity before National Assembly Speaker.

PTI then challenged  IHC’s judgement, which declared acceptance of PTI lawmakers’ resignations as unconstitutional, in SC. However, apex court too had seconded high court’s advice to PTI as it urged party to rejoin Parliament.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 12 2022

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