F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday accepted resignations of 35 lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) as Imran Khan-led party plans return to the assembly to put Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to test through no-confidence vote bid.
The development comes a day after the speaker defended his previous move of accepting the resignation of 34 PTI MNAs and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, saying he approved the resignation of lawmakers who provided valid reasons for quitting the assembly. The PTI MNA and allies submitted their resignations in April last after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister through a no-trust vote. Resignations of Maleeka Ali Bokhari, Andaleeb Abbas, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Syed Fakhr Imam and others have been accepted.
The move came forward amid threats from the PTI to return to parliament only to foil a vote of confidence, which the party hoped President Dr Arif Alvi would seek from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Earlier, NA speaker on Tuesday suddenly accepted long-awaited resignations of PTI members. The previous phase of approved resignations included names of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Shafqat Mahmood, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and others.
ECP de-notifies 35 more PTI MNAs: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday de-notified 35 more Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the National Assembly (MNAs) following the acceptance of their resignations by Speaker NA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
According to ECP notification, 31 general and four reserved seats of the National Assembly were now deemed vacant.
The de-notified PTI lawmakers include Dr Haider Ali Khan (NA-2), Saleem Rehman (NA-3), Sahibzada Sibghatullah (NA-5), Mehboob Shah (NA-6), Muhammad Bashir Khan (NA-7), Junaid Akbar (NA-8), Sher Akbar Khan (NA-9). Ali Khan Jadoon (NA-16), Engr Usman Khan Tarakai (NA-19), Mujahid Ali (NA-20), Arbab Amir Ayub (NA-28), Sher Ali Arbab (NA-30), Shahid Ahmed (NA-34), Gul Dad Khan (NA-40), Sajid Khan (NA-42), Mohammad Iqbal Khan (NA-44), Aamer Mehmood Kiani (NA-61), Syed Faiz ul Hassan (NA-70), Chaudhry Shoukat Ali Bhab (NA-87), Umar Aslam Khan (NA-93), Amjad Ali Khan (NA-96), Khurram Shahzad (NA-107) and others.
The move comes after National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday accepted the resignations of 35 more PTI MNAs amid reports that President Arif Alvi is all set to ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take a vote of confidence from the lower house of the parliament. (INP)
