LAHORE: Over two months after lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) submitted their resignations en masse, Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mohammad Iqbal remains adamant on verifying each of them individually.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Punjab Assembly Speaker said Article 64 of the Constitution refers to “a member” of Parliament in the laws laid down for the vacation of assembly seats, and that he has to individually meet each member before he can accept their resignation.

The Speaker had summoned PTI members to his chambers individually today. However, the deadlock continued as PTI legislators failed to show up in his chambers, insisting they would not meet the Speaker independently but together as a party in the conference hall.

“We are firm on our stance that all of us submitted our resignations almost two months ago, as per party policy and according to our will,” said PTI Punjab President Mehmoodur Rashid.

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Rashid and 28 other PTI members had handed their resignations to the Punjab Assembly Secretariat on August 27 in protest against alleged rigging in the May 2013 general elections.

Rashid had said that the federal and provincial governments had failed to deliver on their promises, which was why PTI MPAs from Punjab were resigning as per party policy.

Speaking to a private news channel separately today, former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah Friday accused PTI chairman Imran Khan of holding his entire party hostage.

He claimed that “serious members” of the PTI wanted an end to the political confrontation.

“I came to convince the PTI members to withdraw their resignations because I thought if they appear individually before the speaker, their resignations would be accepted,” he said after meeting PTI Punjab Assembly members.

“The PTI members do not want to tender resignations and we do not want to accept their resignations,” he said.

A similar impasse continues between the PTI and the ruling PML-N in the National Assembly, where PTI lawmakers have also submitted their resignations, but NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is reluctant on accepting them without individual verification.

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