Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has defended his decision of allowing the return of political rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers to the Lower House months after tendering their resignations.

“Mere tendering resignation does not automatically imply the implementation of the resignation by giving effect to it,” the speaker stated in his written statement submitted in the Supreme Court on Friday.

The speaker submitted his statement in response to a petition filed by former PML-N senator Zafar Ali Shah against the orders of Islamabad High Court (IHC) wherein the court had ruled that it was the exclusive domain of the speaker to apply his mind independently and judiciously while deciding on the resignation of a legislator.

Shah had filed a petition before the IHC seeking disqualification of PTI lawmakers who had resigned from their seats in 2014 during the PTI’s 126-day sit-in. However, the speaker had not accepted the resignations. With dismissal of the petition from IHC, the matter subsequently landed in the Supreme Court.

The speaker, in his statement, maintained that a sealed envelope was received by the NA secretary in August 2014 from PTI’s MNAs Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Arif Alvi, Shireen Mazari and others. The envelope contained resignations of 31 PTI members.

He submitted that the resignations of the lawmakers, including that of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, were not sent to the speaker as required under Rule 43 (2) (a) of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007. “Resignations were not personally handed to the speaker, hence tendering of resignations in such a manner does not tantamount to their automatic acceptance,” he said, adding that he was duty bound to inquire into the matter before allowing resignations to take effect, particularly where genuineness or voluntary nature of resignations was ex-facie doubtful.

On Javed Hashmi, the speaker stated that he verified his resignation in his speech at the floor of the House in September, 2014.