The Lahore High Court on Friday annulled the acceptance of the resignations of 72 members of the National Assembly of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The application against acceptance of resignations was filed by former MNA Riyaz Fatiana, which was heard by Justice Shahid Karim of Lahore High Court.
During the hearing, Justice Karim termed the acceptance of resignations by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as ‘wrong’.
The court directed the 72 members to appear before the Speaker National Assembly to withdraw their resignations and directed the Speaker National Assembly to take a decision after hearing all the members again.
The notification accepting the resignations of Shafqat Mahmood and Fatiana was also declared null and void.
‘Historic decision’
Speaking to the media outside the Lahore High Court, PTI’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar said the court had given a “historic verdict”.
He announced that the political crisis [of the country] will also be resolved with this decision.
He said that the court accepted the petition against the PTI MNA’s de-notification, now he will appear before the Speaker.
He further said that the MNAs will withdraw their resignations after appearing in the inquiry.
He said that after withdrawing the de-notification of ECP, these MNAs will be able to join the National Assembly.
He further said that with the reversal of the resignations, PTI Chairman Imran Khan will be able to play his role for the nation as the opposition leader in Parliament.
He said that it is hoped that the Speaker will complete the inquiry as per law and allow the PTI MNAs to return [to the Assembly].
‘Step towards democracy’
Speaking to the media outside the provincial Supreme Court, the former MNA said the court’s decision was a “positive step towards the constitution and democracy”.
There is no democracy without opposition, Fatiana said, adding that PTI’s return to Parliament would bring back “real democracy” in the country.
He said that Pervez Ashraf is the caretaker of the entire House and does not represent any party, adding, “[We] have pinned all our hopes on Raja Pervez Ashraf.”
The resignation saga
The MNAs were among the lawmakers who resigned after the PTI-led government was ousted by a no-confidence motion in April last year.
At that time, PTI had claimed that after the resignation of Asad Qaiser, former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri had accepted the resignations in the absence of the Speaker.
After his election, Speaker Ashraf accepted the resignations of 11 PTI legislators in July 2022. He had stalled the process saying that the remaining legislators would be called for confirmation individually.
However, contrary to his position, he accelerated the process when the PTI announced its return to the assembly in January and “tested” the prime minister through a vote of confidence.
PTI’s resignations were accepted by National Assembly Speaker Ashraf in four phases: 11 in the first phase, 35, 34 and 43 in the second, third and fourth phases respectively.
However, several PTI legislators challenged this decision in the Lahore High Court.
The High Court suspended the ECP notification and stayed the by-elections in 43 constituencies till further notice.
