ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has accepted the request of former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Nehal Hashmi to take back his resignation, saying that the senator had admitted he submitted his resignation under duress and unusual circumstances.
Rabbani said Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq should be apprised of the development.
Rabbani said Hashmi had submitted his resignation in the office of the Senate secretary, but he didn’t appear on June 5 for confirmation of his resignation. He was asked to appear on June 7; however, Hashmi submitted an application to take back his resignation on June 6 and said he resigned under pressure.
The chairman said he asked Hashmi if he wants to take back his resignation, to which the former PML-N leader said he wants to. His resignation has therefore been taken back, Rabbani said.
Nehal Hashmi asked the Senate chairman on Tuesday not to consider his resignation. Hashmi had submitted his resignation as a PML-N senator after instructions from the PML-N leadership following his recent controversial remarks against the judiciary.
Following Hashmi resignation to Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, he failed to show up on Monday in Rabbani’s office to personally verify his resignation, as asked by Rabbani.
According to a written request submitted to the Senate chairman, Hashmi said he submitted his resignation amid intense pressure. Hashmi claimed that he wants to continue serving his duties as a Senator.
After Hashmi’s request of resignation withdrawal, a Raja Zafarul Haq led PML-N delegation requested the chairman of Senate to accept Hashmi’s earlier resignation, as he had already been suspended from the party following the release of the provocative video.
The Senate chairman’s move was not welcomed by the ruling party leaders with Abid Sher Ali dubbing the chairman’s move as a “conspiracy”.
In his capacity as PML-N president, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also constituted a five-member “National Ethics and Disciplinary Committee” to conduct a probe against Hashmi and submit its report within five days.
The committee, headed by Raja Zafarul Haq, as per Section 147 of the party constitution, which describes the process of initiating any extreme disciplinary action, such as expulsion from the party.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Shafqat Mehmood said that Hashmi’s appeal to the Senate chairman had “[unmasked the] whole melodrama against the superior judiciary and the joint investigation team (JIT), directed and produced by the PML-N.”
Nehal Hashmi’s party leadership was suspended after a video of him hurling threats at the members of judiciary surfaced.
In a speech to workers in Karachi at a Youm-e-Takbeer event, which went viral on May 31, Hashmi had threatened the prime minister’s unidentified ‘enemies’.
Before losing his position, Hashmi was the party’s general secretary for Sindh.
“The one you are investigating is the PM’s son,” ranted Hashmi. “Those investigating us [must know] we will observe your day of judgment,” he stated further.
The statements were taken to be directed at the judiciary and the Joint Investigation Team probing the prime minister’s family in light of the Supreme Court’s April 20 judgment in the Panama case.
