PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday that the party had written a letter to National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf seeking the acceptance of the remaining resignations of PTI lawmakers.
\nThe PTI, which saw the ouster of its chief Imran Khan as the premier through a no-confidence vote in April, had announced it was resigning en masse from the NA just hours before then-opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was to take oath as the country\u2019s new chief executive.
\nThen-NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri, in the capacity of the house\u2019 acting speaker, had subsequently accepted the resignations of 123 PTI MNAs. However, the incumbent speaker later decided to verify the resignations and eventually accepted the resignations of just 11 lawmakers on July 27.
\nThe PTI had first challenged the move in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 1, contesting that it was \u201cunsustainable\u201d. The IHC, however, had dismissed the petition on September 6 and declared that the acceptance of PTI lawmakers\u2019 resignations by Suri wasunconstitutional.
\nThe party then approached the Supreme Court, praying it to set aside the IHC order, terming it \u201cvague, cursory, and against the law\u201d. A decision on the PTI\u2019s plea in the apex court is still pending.
\nMeanwhile, Speaker Ashraf earlier this week said that he would not be accepting the resignations of any lawmakers from the PTI unless he was sure they weren\u2019t tendered under any pressure.
\nSubsequently, in an address to the nation on Wednesday, Imran revealed that PTI lawmakers had decided to go to the NA and demand the acceptance of their resignations from the speaker.
\nAddressing the matter in a media talk today, Qureshi \u2014 who was flanked by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry \u2014 said that even though the resignations had been accepted by Suri earlier, the orders had not yet been implemented.
\nThe former foreign minister lambasted the incumbent NA speaker for being \u201cselective\u201d in accepting the resignations of only 11 MNAs in an \u201cillegal manner\u201d.
\nQureshi accused Ashraf of using his office as custodian of the House for \u201cpartisan reasons\u201d and to provide \u201cpolitical advantage\u201d to the incumbent coalition government by not accepting all the resignations.
\nHe went on to highlight that his party was adamant about its decision to dissolve the assemblies.
\n\u201cWe have already made our decision. We will bring it into action,\u201d he said. \u201cImran Khan gave me a letter. I\u2019m signing it as the vice chairman of the PTI and sending it to the speaker.\u201d
\nThe said letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, states that PTI leaders have requested a meeting with the National Assembly speaker next week to \u201creconfirm\u201d their resignations.
\n\u201cWe could agree on a time with you during the next week and reconfirm resignations tendered by our members. We hope that you will not seek to delay this matter any further,\u201d the letter said.
\n\u201cIt remains unclear on what legal basis could your office selectively de-seat some of the National Assembly members instead of all the members,\u201d it added.
\n\u201cThe public\u2019s verdict in the favour of PTI became very evident in these by-elections whereby the party won 75 per cent of the by-election seat,\u201d the letter stated.
\nDuring the media talk today, Chaudhry clarified that PTI MNAs stopped receiving their salaries after April.
\nHis comment comes a day after the top court, during a hearing of a petition challenging the National Accountability Bureau\u2019s new amendments, expressed shock over PTI lawmakers drawing salaries but not holding their seats in the lower house.
\nResponding to these remarks, the PTI leader said that \u201cgovernment representatives stated incorrect facts in the Supreme Court\u201d and urged for the matter to be thoroughly checked by relevant authorities.
\n\u201cWe should get this checked. We never know what if the government leaders are receiving those salaries and using them on their foreign trips,\u201d he said.
\nThe former minister also said that the party had officially written a letter to the National Assembly speaker only for the Supreme Court\u2019s satisfaction.
\nChaudhry said the Election Commission of Pakistan was not accepting the resignations because they were \u201cliterally a subsidiary of PML-N\u201d.
\n\u201cThe assemblies will be dissolved. Imran Khan will announce on the Dec 17,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be the 17th or Dec 23. Imran Khan will decide and then 70 per cent of the country will move towards elections,\u201d he asserted.
\nChaudhry further said the PTI was trying for the country to move towards general elections under a national framework.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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