ISLAMABAD: Asad Umar, the general secretary of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stated on Monday that forty-four PTI legislators have decided to reverse their resignations from the National Assembly. 44 lawmakers of PTI to withdraw NA resignations.
44 lawmakers of PTI to withdraw NA resignations as Umar claimed in a tweet that Imran Khan, the party’s leader, made the decision after Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the NA Speaker, refused to accept all of the resignations at once and informed him that an email had been sent to him on this.
کیونکہ سپیکر ابھی تک تمام اسمبلی ارکان کے استعفے قبول نہیں کر رہے، اس لئے پارٹی چیئرمین کی ہدایات کے مطابق 44 ارکان اسمبلی نے اپنے استعفے واپس لینے کا فیصلہ سپیکر قومی اسمبلی کو ای میل کر دیا ہے. اگلا قدم اپوزیشن لیڈر کی نامزدگی ہو گی. pic.twitter.com/qx86MCyTBK
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) January 23, 2023
He added that the previous ruling party’s next step would be to designate an opposition figurehead for the lower house.
Additionally, PTI members submitted a request to the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) alerting it of their desire to revoke their resignations. They also mentioned the NA speaker.
The PTI members asked that if the speaker accepted their resignation, they not be notified.
Three days after the NA speaker accepted the same number of PTI MNAs, the electoral watchdog already de-notified a number of those lawmakers.
It is important to note that Ashraf has accepted 50 PTI resignations so far, leaving 80 open.
The NA speaker’s U-turn may also have been intended to prevent the PTI from having a say in the process of drafting the caretaker government for the upcoming general elections, according to some estimates.
The former ruling party hinted at a potential return to the parliament in an effort to recapture vital seats and turn the tables on the ruling coalition, which led to the piecemeal acceptance of resignations.
The PTI, meanwhile, remained undecided over whether to approach the Supreme Court to protest the speaker’s acceptance of the mass resignations of its legislators.
It was discovered that the PTI leadership was carefully considering its next move because it was aware that doing so may undermine its widely held narrative that it chose to boycott parliament in order to put pressure on the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
