After several delays, a National Assembly (NA) spokesperson said on Wednesday that a meeting was scheduled between PTI lawmakers and Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday to personally confirm the pending resignations of party MNAs.
The PTI announced mass resignations from the National Assembly in April, a day after party chief Imran Khan was removed as prime minister in a no-confidence vote and Shahbaz Sharif was named as his successor. Shortly before being selected as
On July 28, the Speaker of the National Assembly accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI legislators who resigned following the no-confidence vote against the former prime minister.
The PTI had first challenged the move in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 1, saying it was “unsustainable”. However, the IHC dismissed the petition on September 6.
The party then approached the Supreme Court, praying it to set aside the IHC order, terming it “vague, cursory, and against the law”. A decision on the PTI’s plea in the apex court is still pending.
However, Ashraf had repeatedly said that he won’t accept the resignations without “confirming their genuineness”. Earlier this month, in a letter addressed to PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he invited the party MNAs for verification.
In an update on the matter today, the NA spokesperson tweeted that former PTI chief whip Malik Amir Dogar and Ashraf spoke via the telephone today.
اسپیکر راجہ پرویز اشرف کا پاکستان تحریک انصاف کہ چیف وہپ ملک عامر ڈوگر سے رابطہ
— National Assembly of 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) December 28, 2022
اسپیکر نے انکو بتایا کہ وہ اور ڈپٹی اسپیکر اپنے آفس میں صبح سے موجود ہیں اور تحریک انصاف کے ممبران کے منتظر ہیں_
باہمی مشاورت سے پی ٹی آئی کل صبح 11:30 بجے سپیکر چیمبر میں ان سے ملاقات کرے گی_ pic.twitter.com/4v2tophkwK
He said that the Speaker told Dogar that both he and the Deputy Speaker were in their offices and waiting for the PTI MNAs. After mutual consultation, it has been decided that the PTI legislators will meet the Speaker tomorrow (Thursday) at 11:30 in his chamber.
The spokesperson added that during the phone call, the Speaker also remarked that all parties should play their role in Parliament for the betterment and welfare of the country.
This is the second telephonic conversation between Duggar and Ashraf this week. A day earlier, the PTI’s former chief whip called Ashraf – who was in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh for the PPP’s power show – to discuss the issue of confirming the resignations of 124 PTI MNAs. Requested a formal meeting for
Dogar told the speaker of the National Assembly that a delegation of PTI leaders including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervaiz Khattak and others wanted to meet him.
However, later on Tuesday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told reporters in Lahore that when party leaders met Ashraf today, he was nowhere to be found.
“[We] were told that the Speaker has gone to Larkana. “We are getting information that he is going to Australia later,” Chaudhry claimed.
