Three more Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs have refused to quit the National Assembly, as PTI Chairman Imran Khan faces a rebellion-like situation within his own party.
Qaisar Jamal, Siraj Muhammad Khan and Saleemur Rehman are the three PTI MNAs who did not appear before the Speaker National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, to confirm their resignations which were submitted en masse with other PTI MNAs on the direction of the PTI chairman on August 22.
Siraj Muhammad Khan has now informed the NA Speaker in writing not to accept his resignation. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has accepted his written application.In his application, Siraj said that pressure was mounted on him during the en masse resignations and he did not submit his resignation voluntarily. Therefore, his resignation should not be accepted.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed that Qaisar Jamal, Siraj Muhammad Khan and Saleemur Rehman had submitted their resignations and they were bound by the discipline of the PTI. However, all three members did not appear before the NA Speaker for verification — a big blow to the PTI parliamentary party.
Siraj Muhammad Khan, Gulzar Khan and Asad Umar are the chairmen of the standing committees for trade, food and agriculture, and industry and production in the National Assembly and enjoy all the perks, including the use of official vehicles as chairmen of standing committees, says the National Assembly Secretariat.
Siraj Muhammad Khan is the fourth PTI lawmaker who has defied the party’s decision to resign.Three MNAs, including Gulzar Khan from Peshawar, Mussarat Ahmadzeb from Swat and Nasir Khan Khattak from Karak, disobeyed the PTI over resignations at the time when the party decided to tender resignations en masse.
Their refusal to resign had dealt a serious blow to the PTIwhen it was trying to mount pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down.Cracks started to appear in PTI when Imran Khan staged a sit-in against the PML-N government and decided to resign from the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly and Sindh Assembly.
The three MNAs had protested against what they called the party’s unprincipled decision to ask its lawmakers in the National Assembly to resign and allow Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to function, both elected in the 2013 general elections that Imran Khan claimed were massively rigged.
As if it was not enough, a member of the provincial assembly, Javed Naseem, also revolted against the party over alleged corruption of PTI government and discriminatory treatment of the KP provincial government towards party lawmakers. All the three MNAs and the MPA have been expelled from the party.
But the punitive action could not stop MNA Siraj Muhammad Khan from requesting the Speaker NA not to accept his resignation.Importantly, he comes from Nowshera, the native district of KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and was elected from NA-6.
Siraj Muhammad did not receive calls to confirm or deny his formal request to the NA Speaker and to explain what led him to decide not to resign.He was said to be one of those MNAs who did not intend to resign and was expected not to confirm his resignation before the NA Speaker. However, he had then refused to discuss the issue of his resignation.
The PTI knew that several MNAs intended not to confirm their resignations, taken from them against their will, and thus insisted on appearing before the Speaker collectively.A source, who claimed to have knowledge of other MNAs who would not confirm resignations, said several others would soon surprise the PTI. He said Salimur Rahman from Swat, Hamidul Haq from Peshawar, Mujahid Ali from Mardan and Qaiser Jamal Afridi from Fata would not confirm their resignations.
He claimed that the PTI had promised Senate ticket to Aqibullah, brother of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Imran Khattak, the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Murad Saeed from Swat.
PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Secretary Khalid Masood said it was still not clear whether Siraj Muhammad Khan had asked the NA Speaker for not accepting his resignation. “But if he has, the policy is clear that he will no more be in PTI. All those who go against the party decision to resign will be expelled from PTI,” he said in unambiguous words.
Asked whether the party had knowledge that other MNAs mentioned above would not confirm their resignations, he said he did not know about lawmakers who intended so.On the alleged promise of Senate ticket to certain MNAs, he said PTI did not make such deals. “I sit in party meetings and am member of the CEC but no such promise has been made in my presence to anyone,” he explained.
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