Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers to submit their resignations afresh and show up in person to verify that they were quitting the lower house of the parliament without duress and pressure.
Talking to the media in Islamabad after holding a meeting with PTI lawmakers — who ask him to accept their en masse resignations they tendered after former prime minister Imran Khan’s government was toppled through a no-confidence vote in April — the National Assembly speaker said that he has made clear to the PTI lawmakers that they will have to tender their resignation afresh and appear before him in person to verify that they were under no duress in leaving the lower house as its members.
PTI leaders
PTI lawmakers led by former NA speaker Asad Qaiser met with Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the National Assembly and asked him to accept their resignations, earlier approved by former deputy speaker Qasim Suri.
Ashraf said that there is a set procedure in the constitution about accepting the resignation of lawmakers and it could not be done with a stroke of a pen.
“I have requested the PTI delegation to send their resignations again and appear in person and individually to verify that they are resining of their own free will and without any pressure,” the NA speaker said adding that he had accepted the resignation of 11 PTI members after they announced about their resignation in the assembly, in TV programmes and on tweets.
He said that he did not believe in the pick-and-choose police and will go by the book and will do everything according to the law.
Raja Parvez Ashraf said that in a parliamentary democracy, the dialogue was the only way to find a solution to problems.
He said that individual meetings would still be required to verify their resignation.
Meanwhile, PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser said that they have already tendered their unanimous resignation and requested the speaker to play his role and accept the resignations.
He said that they apprised the speaker that he had already accepted the resignation of 11 PTI lawmakers and should also accept the resignation of the rest of the members.
