National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday defended his decision to accept the resignations of PTI lawmakers, saying he only did so after they were able to “satisfy him” by proving that it was a “voluntary decision and not under pressure”.

In an apparent bid to scuttle the PTI’s purported plan to bring a confidence motion agai­nst Prime Minister Shehbaz Sha­rif, Ashraf on Tuesday had accepted the resignations of 34 PTI lawmakers alongside Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, resulting in their de-notification by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The ECP communiqué regarding the de-notification of the members, mostly the top brass of the PTI and former members of Imran Khan’s cabinet, came as a surprise for the PTI as well as political experts as only two weeks back, the speaker had refused to accept the resignations.

Meanwhile, PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser had termed Ashraf’s move to be a “grave injustice” to the speaker’s office.

“When you occupy a constitutional position, then you should make decisions keeping in mind the law and the Constitution. You have to act in accordance with the law [rather] than fulfilling the wishes of political people,” Qaiser had said.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, the NA speaker said he had accepted the resignations of those lawmakers who had satisfied him that they had tendered the resignations voluntarily as well as those who had made their stance on the matter clear in the media.

Ashraf said that several PTI lawmakers had contacted him, saying they were still pondering over the decision to resign from the lower house of parliament.

“Many PTI members spoke to me on the phone and said they were still thinking about it. They also told me that they were initially told that tendering resignations was only a pressure tactic.”

Ashraf said he became doubtful after hearing such statements and did not accept the resignations till he was completely satisfied. “Before I accept any resignation, I make sure that the person resigning made the decision according to their own will and conscience.”

He said, “There is a hue and cry when I don’t accept resignations, and a hue and cry when I do.”

Ashraf rejected the claim that he accepted the resignations due to PTI Chairman Imran Khan hinting at the party’s return to the assembly.

“There is nothing as such. The process of accepting the resignations was initiated when the PTI delegation visited me,” he said, referring to the meeting held last month.

“We went over their media statements, their tweets, and their signatures before taking a decision regarding their resignations.”

He said that the lawmakers whose resignations had not yet been accepted should return to the assembly.