The resignations submitted by two PML-N lawmakers have been declared ‘fake’ by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser after the parliamentarians failed to verify those.
Murtaza Javed and Dr Sajjad Awan had submitted their resignations on December 14 following the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s decision to resign from the Parliament in lieu of their anti-government protests. However, the lawmakers did not verify their resignations and termed them fake. “Since the resignations could not be authenticated, they have been dismissed and no further action is required,” said a statement issued by the NA Secretariat. “Both members have disowned their resignations received by National Assembly Secretariat on Dec 14 and both the members also called the resignations fake,” it said.
The ruling comes a day after the two PML-N MNAs appeared before NA speaker after letters were issued to them by the assembly secretariat, asking them to appear before the speaker for ‘verification’ of their resignations.
Earlier this month, a controversy broke out when the letters were issued to them, with the MNAs denying having sent the resignations. The PML-N too termed the resignations ‘fake’ and asked the NA speaker to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Later in the month, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz directed the two lawmakers to go to the National Assembly speaker and verify their resignations even if they were sent ‘by mistake’. “Let me tell you one thing, regardless of whether they were sent by mistake, if the NA speaker asks you to verify the letters then say here are your resignations, now accept them,” she had said, while addressing a workers’ convention in Sukkur.
In a series of tweets on Thursday, the NA Secretariat said that action on the resignations was taken according to ‘the law, rules, guidelines and Supreme Court decisions’. “The resignations could not be verified so no further action is needed,” the NA speaker ruled.
Abbasi, who served as deputy speaker in the previous assembly, is the chief whip of the PML-N in the National Assembly and Sajjad is the brother of Captain (r) Safdar, the spouse of the PML-N vice president.
