ISLAMABAD - Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf has reiterated that PTI MNAs' resignations were accepted strictly in accordance with the Constitution and Rules of Business of National Assembly of Pakistan. He also said that the very process of acceptance of PTI members’ resignations was started after meeting with a PTI delegation led by Asad Qaiser and Malik Amir Dogar. He expressed these views during his meeting with a PTI delegation led by PTI former chief whip Malik Amir Dogar in connection with the matter of PTI members’ resignations in Parliament House. The PTI lawmakers were interested to take part in the proceedings but they were not allowed by the Speaker. While discussing the matter of acceptance of resignations and their demand of seats of Leader of Opposition and Chairman PAC, Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf informed the delegation that each PTI member was written separately for individual verification of their resignations time and again but not a single member appeared before him. However, the Speaker assured that their request for reversing the decision would be put forth before a legal team of the National Assembly Secretariat. Meanwhile, the PTI wrote a letter to the NA speaker to appoint Shah Mahmood Qureshi as new Leader of the Opposition in the House after the Election Commission suspended its de-notification order of 32 MNAs of the party on the directions of the higher judiciary. The letter written by former Chief Whip of PTI Malik Aamir Dogar says that PTI has become the largest opposition party in the National Assembly after the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s February 20 order and rules of the house allow the party to nominate the new opposition leader among its lawmakers.
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On February 24, the ECP on the directions of LHC had suspended its own order de-notifying 32 PTI MNAs whose resignations were accepted by the speaker. PTI MNAs had challenged the speaker’s decision before the court, which directed the electoral body to suspend the order. The ECP had de-notified 34 PTI lawmakers on January 17, 35 on January 20, followed by 43 on January 25 months after these lawmakers had resigned. Dogar in his letter said that as a result of the LHC order, the largest opposition party in the National Assembly was now PTI and the leader of the opposition should be from it.