PTI Leadership Laments NA Resignations, Dissolution Of Provincial Assemblies

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jan, 2023 ) :After acceptance of resignations of the Pakistan Tahrik e Insaf's lawmakers by the Speaker National Assembly, the PTI leadership was now seemed lamenting their decision as the party has lost its due role of becoming part of the constitutional process regarding formation of the caretaker government in the centre.

Political and legal experts said the acceptance of resignations of the last 43 PTI's MNAs by the Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf has shattered the hopes of PTI leaders to re-enter the National Assembly to fulfill their personal agenda. With the new development, the PTI had lost a golden opportunity to nominate a caretaker Prime Minister with the government after completion of the constitutional tenure of the National Assembly.

"PTI's MNAs should blame themselves for their immature and irrational decision of 'tendering uncalled for resignations' from the National Assembly in April last year that would further cost them politically in the upcoming elections," said ANP leader and former Minister Wajid Ali Khan while talking to APP on Tuesday.

He said no justification was left with PTI's de-notified MNAs to protest outside of the speaker house for withdrawal of resignations after its acceptance, adding the Imran Khan-led party apparently wanted to replace MNA Raja Riaz as a leader of the opposition.

Wajid Ali said PTI leadership seemed unnerved after the Speaker's bold decision that had been taken in line with the assembly rules and constitution, adding once a resignation was tendered by MNA can't be withdrawn.

He said the speaker was left with no choice but to accept PTI's lawmakers' resignations after they turned down his several requests to appear one by one for verification. On Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf approved the resignations of another 43 lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Earlier, the resignations of 70 PTI's MNAs were accepted in two phases by the speaker, who waited for nearly eight months for verification of their resignations before their de-notification by the ECP. A total of 131 MNAs of PTI had submitted resignations minutes before the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in April last year after the end of Imran Khan government through a successful no confidence vote by the National Assembly.

Ikhtair Wali Khan, PML-N spokesman KP and former MPA said that the treasury benches time and again asked the PTI lawmakers to return to the national assembly for their constitutional role, however, he said the PTI made mock of the offer and showed no serious response to the government's offer.

"For the sake of one person's ego and stubbornness, PTI had first tender resignations from NA and later dissolved Punjab and KP assemblies despite enjoying two third majority in the latter," he said, adding PTI had disappointed the people of KP and Punjab who would take revenge from it in upcoming elections.

Imran Khan had neither fulfilled the promise of constructing five million houses nor provided jobs to 10 million people; he did not convert PM and Governor Houses as public sector universities despite his tall pledges, he maintained.

Ikhtair Wali said PTI had failed to deliver in the health sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite ten years' rule, and had not establish even a single hospital in the province, forcing poor people to get treatment in private hospitals and labs at Dabgari gardens on very high charges.

"Imran had first criticised the PML-N government in Punjab regarding Metro bus and called it a Jangla Bus, but later followed the PML-N and started the same project in Peshawar at very high cost," he added.

Wali said that PTI had raised hollow slogans of accountability for political gains and later abolished its own Ehtasab Commission in KP that exposed Imran's accountability claims before masses.

Instead to focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction of houses of millions of flood victims, he claimed that PTI fled away from KP and Punjab by dissolving the two provincial assemblies and left the affectees under an open sky in harsh weather.

Hamaza Khan, PML-N Nowshera President said that PTI lawmakers axed their own feet by tendering uncalled for resignations. After resigning from NA and dissolving two assemblies, he said the PTI had deprived people of their Constituencies and provinces from the development budget.

Hamza said that PTI's flagship billion trees project was taken over by NAB while the BRT project was completed on very high cost that had plunged Peshawar City into a traffic mess due to its ill planned corridor.