Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said that his party will not contest the by-elections to the 35 National Assembly seats that are being allotted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). D was vacant after notification. Members of the Assembly after accepting the resignation of Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf
As power politics continue between the ruling and opposition parties in the country, the Speaker of the National Assembly accepted the resignations of 34 members of the lower house belonging to the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The Speaker also accepted the resignation of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who is a close associate of Khan.
Sanaullah asked who would contest the elections for ‘only two or three months’.
He reiterated that the government will complete its constitutional term which will end in August 2023. The Minister said that the Speaker took this decision because the PTI legislators did not appear before him personally to confirm their resignations despite being invited several times.
To a question, the federal minister said that postponing the by-elections in Punjab is not out of the question, but they should prepare for the elections.
‘PDM will not contest by-elections’
Reacting to the development, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) president and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the ruling alliance would not contest by-elections on vacant seats.
He further said that the reasons for not contesting the election will also be revealed soon.
‘Either accept all resignations or none of them’
PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that according to the constitution, the authority should accept all resignations or none of them.
He accused Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja of “serving nobles”.
Now let’s see whether the judiciary protects the constitution or not.
PTI thanked Speaker for accepting the resignation.
Reacting to the coalition government’s move, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry thanked Speaker Pervez Ashraf for accepting the resignations of his party’s lawmakers.
ہمارے استعفیٰ قبول کرنے کا شکریہ لیکن جب تک آپ 70 اور استعفیٰ قبول نہیں کرتے لیڈر آف اپوزیشن اور پارلیمانی پارٹی کے عہدے تحریک انصاف کے پاس ہی آنے ہیں اور پبلک اکاؤنٹس کمیٹی بھی تحریک انصاف کا حق ہے، امید ہے چیف جسٹس سپریم کورٹ اس ضمن میں ہمارے زیر التواء کیس میں فیصلہ دیں گے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 17, 2023
Until the approval of another 70 resignations, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee belong to his party.
Fawad hopes that the Chief Justice of Pakistan will soon decide the pending cases of his party in this regard.
Imran Khan will contest by-elections on all 35 seats of National Assembly
PTI Secretary General Asad Umar said that his party chairman Imran Khan will contest the by-elections on all 35 vacant seats in the National Assembly.
Reacting to PDM’s decision, the PTI leader claimed, “Whether the ruling alliance participates or not, Khan will win all the seats”.
He added that the government took this decision because it feared that the PTI would return to the National Assembly.
Umar said that ‘Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will have to take a vote of confidence whether we have 35 MNAs in the assembly or not’.
He urged the Speaker to accept the resignations of all PTI MNAs and said that the resignations of the MLAs who have not yet been accepted will return to the Assembly.
