Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over the acceptance of resignation letters of its 123 MNAs.
PTI leaders Ali Muhammad Khan and Shireen Mazari, along with eight other PTI MNAs, filed a joint appeal before the IHC. The petitioners stated that the Speaker of the National Assembly “unlawfully” declared them as having resigned from their seats, which was followed by the ECP declaring the seats “vacant”.
NA Speaker accepts resignations of 11 PTI MNAs
The petitioners also maintained that the PTI lawmakers tendered their resignations as per party policy on political grounds with the objective of reaching an agreement with the then “opposition parties for holding fresh elections so that a new government may be formed with a real mandate” of people.
The petitioners submitted the records and transcript of the audio leaks regarding the PTI resignations that surfaced on September 25.
To determine if the resignations were voluntary and genuine and met the requirements outlined in Article 64 of the constitution, the petitioners asked the court to order the NA speaker to call 112 MNAs and the petitioners.
The Speaker and ECP’s directive regarding their seats was deemed “illegal,” “given without legitimate power,” and “of no legal effect” by the party in an appeal to the court. Additionally, they claimed that the orders were against both the Constitution and the Supreme Court-decided law.
In a bid to compel the government to announce elections, a total of 123 MNAs of the PTI had tendered their resignation letters when Imran Khan’s government was ousted through a no-trust motion.
However, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Parvez Ashraf, has only accepted the resignation letters of 11 PTI MNAs so far, who have been de-seated by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
All resignations should be accepted together: PTI moves IHC against ECP
