QUETTA, Oct 4: A division bench of the Balochistan High Court has suspended a notification of the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly on a petition filed by Agha Daud Faisal of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal challenging his resignation from the assembly seat.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and Justice Akhtar Zaman Malghani on Thursday admitted the petition for regular hearing after the counsel

of the petitioner and the respondent raised important issues.

The petitioner contended that he had not resigned from the assembly and the speaker had been informed through a phone call. Besides, a letter was faxed to him denying submission of the resignation.

Kamran Murtaza, the counsel for the respondent, submitted an application under section 163 of the Qanoon-i-Shahadat and Oath Act pleading that if the petitioner appeared before the court and swore by the Quran that he had not signed a resignation application he would not contest the case.

Otherwise, he said, the petition was liable to be dismissed.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mr Mohammad Riaz, contended that the respondent should file a reply and the petitioner would submit his response.

On a petition filed by another MMA dissident, Amna Khanum, the court accepted the submission of her counsel to grant her some time to file a reply to the application filed by the counsel of the respondent.

The court on Thursday also suspended the notification of the speaker of the provincial assembly accepting the resignation of Amna Khanum after the petitioner pleaded that she had not submitted to the speaker her resignation from the assembly.

The hearing has been adjourned for three weeks.