PTI resignations

Taken in isolation, the Sindh Assembly speaker’s decision to finally accept the resignation of PTI members will not have a substantive impact. The PTI holds only four seats in the assembly and a minimum of 34 votes will be needed to elect a PTI senator from Sindh in the upcoming elections. At best the PTI could have helped the PML-F in electing a senator. Where it could be significant though is in convincing the PML-N to follow the PPP’s lead and accept PTI resignations in Punjab and the National Assembly. The PTI has 30 seats in Punjab and would expect the JI and PML-Q to vote for its candidates. Imran Khan is still adamant that his members will not return to the assemblies till a judicial commission is formed, even though he has called off his street protests for now. The logic of this decision is hard to see. If the PTI is choosing to focus for now on improving governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it should do the same in other provinces and at the national level by playing the role of a responsible opposition party instead of being the outsider. Whatever leverage it had in playing the resignation card is now also lost since the government’s survival is ensured and it is only the PTI that will lose out by ceding Senate seats.
At the moment it isn’t even certain if the Sindh Assembly resignations will go through. For some reason, the assembly secretariat has been stopped from forwarding the resignations to the Election Commission. The move could have legal obstacles since the four PTI members never confirmed their resignations in person. Perhaps this is also a power play on the part of the PPP hoping to spook the PTI members – many of whom have resigned only under duress after instructions from Imran – and start a revolt against the leader. The prospect of gaining Senate seats – something the PTI has never had before – will surely be tempting to the party. But Imran has reportedly ruled out standing for Senate seats in areas where there was rigging, which for him means everywhere other than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PPP is possibly also hoping to spur the PML-N into action so that the resignations of PTI members in the more significant national and Punjab assemblies are accepted. That would lead to by-elections where the PPP would hope for a better performance with the PTI out of the way. Either way, Imran has the opportunity to finally bring a total end to his protests and return to the mainstream. Wiser heads in the party need to prevail and convince the chairman to do the right thing.