PTI won’t let resigning MPs speak for themselves

• Qureshi adamant that PTI lawmakers will not appear before NA speaker individually for verifying their resignations
• NA speaker decides to take resignations matter to ECP
• ECP says has no concern with PTI issue as only NA speaker is authorised to accept resignations

Deadlock persists over the issue of resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has decided to engage the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the issue following the lawmakers’ refusal to meet the speaker individually in his chambers.

The Commission has however distanced itself from the proposition, saying that the issue fell in the sole domain of the NA speaker.

Commenting on Sadiq’s decision to send the matter to the ECP, the Commission officials said the speaker would be sending a letter to the wrong postal address if he forwarded the resignations to the Commission, which will likely write back saying that the National Assembly should deal with the matter itself.

“Our role starts once we get a copy of notification from the speaker’s office that a particular seat has fallen vacant. We announce and organise polls on the vacant seat,” the officials said. Even in case the speaker rejects someone’s resignation, it is not obliged to inform the ECP, they added.

Sadiq Wednesday had called PTI members once again to verify if they were resigning on their free will. Around 25 members, led by party’s Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, reached the National Assembly Secretariat in a group. However, they refused to appear individually before the speaker.

PTI members, except a few, had submitted their resignations with the speaker’s office in August when the party launched its sit-in in the federal capital. The speaker is yet to accept or reject the resignations submitted collectively through their vice chairman.

SPEAKER BELIEVES HE HAS NO CHOICE:

Speaking to journalists, Sadiq said that he was left with no other option but to bring ECP into the matter.

“The deputy speaker repeatedly went to the group of MNAs and told them to individually come to the speaker’s chamber for verification of resignations. Instead, they told the deputy speaker that the speaker should present himself in the speaker’s lounge and verify the resignations there,” the speaker said.

The NA speaker also quoted a letter he received from Shah Mehmood Qureshi which said, “It will be up to the NA speaker whether to listen to the MNAs one by one, or collectively. After reading this, I was hopeful that this issue would be resolved.” He added that PTI MNAs were to arrive at 2pm but arrived at 11am.

PTI REMAINS DEFIANT:

Earlier, PTI lawmakers had arrived at the National Assembly to verify their resignations but had refused to resign individually.

Under the leadership of Qureshi, the lawmakers collectively entered the National Assembly chanting “Go Nawaz Go” slogans and stationed outside Sadiq’s chambers.

Addressing journalists outside Parliament House, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his party’s point of action was clear that its lawmakers have resigned from the National Assembly.

“PTI tried all constitutional means to highlight the massive rigging during the 2013 General Elections. We have said it many times that we have resigned. We have fulfilled the criteria of Article 64 of the Constitution,” Qureshi said, adding that the PTI lawmakers came to the speaker’s chamber on his call and waited for more than two hours but he did not show up.

The PTI leader said that they have informed the deputy speaker to convey the word to Sadiq that PTI lawmakers stood by their resignations.