ISLAMABAD : In an effort to prevent opposition leader Raja Riaz, a dissident PTI leader, from negotiating with the government on caretaker set-up in the event that general elections are called, 43 more PTI lawmakers withdrew their resignations on Tuesday, a day after they had announced their intention to do so. National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted their resignations.
The speaker has now given his approval for 124 PTI resignations, up from 11 in August of last year and 70 earlier this week. The PTI MNAs presented their resignations in April of last year in opposition to Imran Khan’s being removed as prime minister by a vote of no-confidence.
Riaz Fatyana, Sardar Tariq Hussain, Mohammad Yaqub Sheikh, Murtaza Iqbal, Sardar Mohammad Khan Leghari, Zile Humma, Rukhsana Naveed, Ghazala Saifi, Nousheen Hamid, Sobia Kamal Khan, and other individuals have submitted their resignations, which have all been accepted by the speaker.
45 PTI MNAs attempted to meet with the speaker on Monday to revoke their resignations, but he was not available. Later, they organised a sit-in outside the speaker’s official house in the federal capital and protested outside parliament.
PTI MNAs hold a sit-in outside the speaker’s home to call off resignations.
The quick clearance of the resignations came after the Imran Khan-led party declared its return to the parliament to challenge Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a vote of no-confidence and reversed course on resignations.
Since the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislatures were dissolved, the general election has gained attention. The administration has continued to stress that the elections will go place on schedule, nevertheless.
The general election may take place this year in March or April, according to Mr. Khan, who has said this several times. Since his removal from office by a vote of no confidence in April of last year, he has been advocating for early elections in the nation.