Supporters of former Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan dance as they celebrate after the nation’s Supreme Court ruled that the arrest of Khan was illegal, in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Image: Reuters File)
The 72 lawmakers resigned in April 2022 to force the government to hold elections following Imran Khan’s ouster in a no-confidence vote.
The Lahore High Court on Friday paved the way for 72 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers to return to the Pakistan National Assembly as it set aside decisions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Assembly (NA) speaker to accept the resignation of these 72 lawmakers from Punjab, the Dawn said in a report.
These 72 lawmakers resigned en masse when former prime minister and PTI leader Imran Khan was ousted from power through a vote of non-confidence in April 2022.
Their chief Imran Khan said that his party members will return to the National Assembly and raise issues related to human rights violations and attempts to crush his outfit.
He ruled out attending the National Assembly citing that the Pakistan parliament lost “its political and legislative relevance for the country.”
The decision was announced by justice Shahid Karim after PTI leaders Shafqat Mahmood and Riaz Ahmad Fatyana filed petitions before the court.
Justice Karim told the lawmakers to appear before the NA Speaker personally and withdraw their resignations. He also directed the speaker, Raja Pervez Ashraf, to decide the matter personally after hearing each member.
PTI senator Syed Ali Zafar told Dawn that now the MNAs can return to the NA and perform their constitutional duties.
PTI told the court that their senators resigned en masse following directions from the party high command only to force the government to hold fresh elections. It further said that the petitioners withdrew their resignations on live television and also informed the speaker that they had done so.
The lawyer contended that the speaker must adhere to constitutional procedures and Pakistan Supreme Court’s decisions when accepting MNA resignations. Mass resignations require individual handwritten submissions, with the speaker personally verifying the nature of the resignation.
Meanwhile, the PTI leadership also realised that the absence of its MNAs in the NA gave a free rein to the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.
The party leadership then reconsidered mass resignations, realising it left the government unchallenged and jeopardised key appointments and privileges of the opposition leader.
For example, the prime minister is required to seek the opposition leader’s input when making important appointments to constitutional positions, including the National Accountability Bureau chairman, chief election commissioner, and interim caretaker set-up.
The government faced little opposition in drafting and passing legislation due to the open field created by the mass resignations.
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