RAWALPINDI: Though the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has submitted the resignations of its MNAs to the National Assembly, the party is yet to take a decision about its members of the Punjab Assembly.

“We handed our resignations to the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid, yesterday and it is up to the party to decide when to use them,” said PTI district president Arif Abbasi, MPA, while talking to Dawn.

He said the party had decided to first resign from the National Assembly and then from the Punjab Assembly if the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister did not quit their posts.

Out of the 14 MPAs in Rawalpindi district, six belong to PTI.

MPA says resignations submitted to opposition leader in assembly

They are Siddique Khan (PP-7), Malik Taimoor Masood (PP-8), Asif Mehmood (PP-9), Rashid Hafeez (PP-11), Ijaz Khan Jazi (PP-12) and Arif Abbasi (PP-13).

The PTI has 24 directly elected members in the 371-member provincial assembly, five women MPAs and one minority member.

The PML-N has 311 members, PPP eight, PML-Q and the PML-Z three each, PNML and BNAP one each and five independents.

However, other political workers in the garrison city are of the view that the political crisis would become more serious as it would be difficult for the government to hold by-elections in case the 34 MNAs of the PTI resign.

“The crisis will deepen in the Punjab because the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is apparently safe after the no-confidence move was move against the chief minister by the opposition parties,” said PPP local leader Amir Fida Paracha.

He said if the PTI members resign, it would be difficult for the government to hold by-elections on the vacant seats.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) local leader Malik Azam said that his party was trying to bring all the parties to the negotiating table to find a solution to the impasse.

He said there was no need to resign from the Punjab Assembly as it would give a free hand to the provincial government with the exit of the PTI, which was the single largest party in the opposition.

Former MNA Malik Shakil Awan said the PTI would not resign from the provincial assembly otherwise they would have no role in parliamentary politics.

“For the government, it will not be difficult to hold by-election,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2014