ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar said Monday that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) participation in the joint session of the Parliament was unconstitutional.

"PTI members partook in NA after ages...it should also be clear that they were members who had tendered their resignations."

"Under clause (1) of Article 64 of the Constitution, it is evident that when a parliamentarian tenders his/her resignation, it is considered as such and that parliamentarian should no longer attend House proceedings."

He further said there was "no question of accepting or not accepting a resignation...a resignation is a resignation and takes on constitutional importance once it is tendered."

Sattar said even if National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq permitted PTI members to return to NA after a seven-month hiatus, it was not authorised behaviour on his part.

"Being custodian of the Parliament and chairing the joint session, if the speaker violates clause (a) of Article 64 of the Constitution and other members of the House, too, maintain silence on the pretext of democracy, it is tantamount to making a joke of both democracy and the Constitution."

He said if a parliamentarian remained absent from House proceedings for 40 consecutive days, then he/she was automatically de-seated from NA membership.

He said MQM may boycott NA proceedings until it was given an explanation regarding the attendance of PTI lawmakers in the Parliament.

"We have been mandated to protect the Constitution and until we get a response on this, we will continue to boycott the Parliament and record our protest; if need be we will also go to court," he said.

Continuing the tirade against PTI's participation in the NA, MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the party tried to tell Sadiq that there were strangers, na-mehram in the Parliament.

He likened the resignations with three divorces — which if tendered once were deemed accepted. He analogised today's NA proceedings with a divorce and subsequently termed the joint session of the Parliament completely unconstitutional.

"If these strangers can attend proceedings, then any of you [reporters] can," he said.

He said their objection over PTI lawmakers' participation in the Parliament's joint session persisted even before it started and it should have been addressed by the NA speaker.

Recounting the time when a military operation was underway against the MQM in 1992 after which party lawmakers tendered their resignation, he said nobody saw the face of any MQM member in the House after their resignations were accepted.

He questioned as to why PTI lawmakers' resignations were not accepted when they had tendered themselves.

"Their presence in the House after a seven-month sabbatical is contempt of the Parliament and parliamentarians."

On Sunday, PTI announced its decision to joint the Parliament after almost seven months of absence from the National Assembly and provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh with party Chairman Imran Khan saying that the Yemen conflict was very important and that he would also partake in the proceedings and present his party's view.

Take a look: PTI decides to join Parliament after seven-month boycott

PTI had boycotted the Parliament in mid-August to protest against alleged massive rigging in the 2013 general elections.

MQM, PML-F members walk out of Sindh Assembly

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League - Functional (PML-F) members walked out of the Sindh Assembly session on Monday after they were not allowed to speak in the House.

Four members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were also present in the Sindh Assembly after a seven-month boycott.

Assembly Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza told MQM member Mohammad Hussain that he cannot talk on point of order while the session's notice is being highlighted. After this, the MQM members walked out of the assembly.

Hussain had asked for an explanation regarding the nine-zero raid and worker arrests as well as PTI members returning to the assembly.

PML-F members also walked out of the session over Senior Minister Nisar Khoro's remarks who said they are creating noise when they tried discuss issues regarding farming.

The deputy speaker also got the mics switched off of opposition members who were protesting against Nisar Khoro. The PML-F members tore copies of the agenda and rules in front of the speaker.

During the session, six official bills were announced after the Sindh governor's permission which included Sindh local government, Sindh government property insurance, Sindh Institute of Management and Technology, Sindh Arms Amendment Bill and Disabled Persons Rehabilitation and Welfare bill.