ISLAMABAD: As 43 lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seek to return to the National Assembly, Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday said that they are yet to receive the Lahore High Court (LHC) order. It did not happen in which the Election Commission was suspended. Notification of Pakistan (ECP) regarding resignations of MNAs.
“Once the decision is received, it will be read in full and then a decision will be taken regarding the admission of the members,” the Speaker said in a video statement released today.
پاکستان تحریک انصاف (پی ٹی آئی) کہ استعفوں کے حوالے سے ہونے والی حالیہ پیش رفت پر اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی راجہ پرویز اشرف کا بیان_
— National Assembly of 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) February 9, 2023
لاہور ہائیکورٹ کا فیصلہ ابھی تک اسمبلی کو موصول نہیں ہوا_ آئندہ کا لائحہ عمل فیصلہ پڑھنے کہ بعد طے کیا جائے گا_اسپیکر pic.twitter.com/XDEVCThyLw
Meanwhile, National Assembly sources said the secretariat is consulting its legal team on the order.
A day ago, the Lahore High Court suspended the ECP’s order de-notifying the resignations of 43 PTI MNAs after Speaker Ashraf sent them to the election body.
PTI changed the plan.
Earlier, sources told JEE News that 43 PTI MNAs have decided to visit the Parliament House today on the instructions of party chairman Imran Khan following the order of the Lahore High Court.
On the instructions of the PTI chief, the assembly members reached Islamabad today.
However, after the speaker’s statement, the lawmakers changed their plans and will instead go to Parliament Lodges.
PTI MNA Nusrat Wahid, one of the 43 legislators who approached the Lahore High Court, said they could not go to the assembly until they received a written court order.
“The best policy now is to wait for the court order. We are Imran Khan’s soldiers and try not to do anything illegal,” Wahid said.
Story of resignation
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, 43 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.
