PTI fails to show up at another meeting with NA speaker over resignations

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief whip Amir Dogar and the party's delegation did not show up to a meeting to discuss their resignations, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Wednesday.

The former chief whip had, a day earlier, telephoned the NA speaker and informed him that a PTI delegation wanted to meet him. The party's leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Parvez Khattak, and other lawmakers, had asked to set a meeting with the NA speaker.

The speaker welcomed the PTI leaders to meet them and said that dialogues are the only solution in a parliamentary democracy.

Speaking with the journalists at the Parliament House, Ashraf said that he reached the assembly office today, contacted Dogar, and called him for the meeting.

"Dogar told me that some of the PTI leaders wanted to meet me regarding their resignations, however, I told him that I will meet all of them separately and not in groups," added Ashraf.

The NA speaker further said that the resignations should be written by the lawmakers themselves as per the rules, adding that every member is required to write the resignation with their own hands.

Ashraf also said that he would not accept the resignations hastily, but they will be accepted followed by the rules and regulations. "I am everyone's speaker and I do not belong to any political party. The solution to the issues faced by the country is the Parliament's forum and the PTI should play its role in Parliament," he added.

He also said that all the parties should play their role for the betterment and welfare of the country. "Politics is everyone's right, however, people's interest is the most important and it cannot be compromised," he added.

On the other hand, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the NA speaker does not give a proper time or date for a meeting. He added that whenever the lawmakers decide to meet the speaker, he runs from the assembly.

The PTI MNAs had resigned en masse after PTI Chairman Imran Khan was voted out from the prime minister's office in April and have not returned to the house despite the Supreme Court and the government's requests.

The PTI and NA speaker have back-and-forth written letters about their resignations, but the party has time and again failed to follow up on its commitment.