Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Saturday wrote a letter to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in which he said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers did not hold any constitutional entitlement to a seat in the parliament after having tendered their resignations.
The letter said that under clauses (1) and (2) of Article 64 of the Constitution, PTI lawmakers’ seats stood vacant after submitting their resignations in writing. It underscored that absence of a lawmaker from the NA for 40 consecutive days could immediately render his/her seat vacant.
The letter said that by not accepting the resignations of PTI lawmakers, the speaker had committed an unconstitutional act and claimed that Sadiq had no legal authority to not accept the resignations.
It emphasised that it was the speaker’s responsibility to accept the resignations and request the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections on the vacant seats.
The letter further said that the NA speaker should immediately accept the resignations of PTI lawmakers in accordance with the Constitution as he had been mandated to uphold it.
The PTI partook in the joint session of the Parliament convened to debate the Yemen crisis after a seven-month boycott and faced the wrath of parliamentarians who criticised its MNAs for sitting in the National Assembly after calling it a House constituted through rigged elections.
