Pak National Assembly Speaker to verify resignations of PTI MNAs

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 17 : Newly-elected Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Saturday announced the de-sealing of resignation letters tendered by 123 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, reported local media.
Ashraf directed the National Assembly Secretariat to deal with the issue of resignations of the PTI Members according to the previous rulings and rules and present them before him so that action could be taken as per law, reported The News International.
The announcement comes after Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) parliamentary leader Maulana Asad Mahmood and former Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq called upon the Speaker to investigate and review the issue of resignations of the PTI Members.
Claiming that he received calls from a number of PTI members who did not want to resign, Sadiq said that verification of each resignation was not done as per the rule. Further, citing the technical details, he said that the National Assembly Secretariat had received cyclostyle resignations whereas those should be handwritten by every Member of the National Assembly.
Ahead of the election for a new Prime Minister of Pakistan, PTI decided to resign en mass after Imran Khan said that he will not sit in the assemblies with 'thieves'. Their resignations were approved by the former acting Speaker Qasim Suri on Friday.
Following the approval, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated his 123 MNAs for "standing firm for a sovereign Pakistan".
"Want to appreciate our 123 MNAs as their resignations have been accepted by Speaker Qasim Suri. Their standing firm for a sovereign Pakistan and against US-initiated regime change bringing to power criminals, convicted & on bail - the ultimate insult to any self-respecting independent nation," he tweeted.