Photo courtesy National Assembly of Pakistan
National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday accepted the resignations of 11 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers by exercising his powers under Article 64(1) of the Constitution.
In a statement posted on Twitter, a spokesperson for the National Assembly said that a notification confirming the resignations had been issued by the NA Secretariat. It also identified the 11 lawmakers whose resignations had been confirmed:
- Ali Muhammad Khan, NA-11, Mardan-III
- Fazal Muhammad Khan, NA-24, Charsadda-II
- Shaukat Ali, NA-31, Peshawar-V
- Fakhar Zaman Khan, NA-45, Kurram-I
- Farrukh Habib, NA-108, Faisalabad-VIII
- Ijaz Ahmad Shah, NA-118, Nankana Sahib-II
- Jamil Ahmed Khan, NA-237, Malir-II
- Muhammad Akram Cheema, NA-239, Karachi-I (Korangi)
- Abdul Shakoor Shad, NA-246, Karachi South-I
- Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari, reserved seat for women (Punjab)
- Shandana Gulzar Khan, reserved seat for women (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa)
PTI lawmakers had tendered their resignations en masse in April after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister through a vote of no-confidence. Initially, the resignations were accepted by then-Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, but incumbent Speaker Ashraf had reversed the decision after claiming due process of verification had not been followed.
Ashraf had previously sought to confirm the resignations by issuing summons for PTI lawmakers to personally meet him and confirm their decision, but the former ruling party had refused to participate in the process, prolonging the deadlock. According to local media, the 11 lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted had all confirmed their resignations during public speeches. It is unclear if and when Ashraf would accept the resignations of the remaining PTI lawmakers.