ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has challenged phased approval of resignations of party MNAs in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has filed a petition in court challenging the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s decision to accept the resignation of only 11 PTI MNAs.

Speaking to media after submitting the petition, PTI leader Asad Umar said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not remained an impartial institution.

He said 125 PTI MNAs had announced their resignation on April 11 which was announced by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi. On April 13, he said the Deputy Speaker completed the process of approving the resignations, after which the new Speaker had no authority to stop them.

He said the ECP did not accept their resignations but approved 11 voluntary resignations which is evident that the election commission has not been impartial. “The Election Commission has become a political party, it should now allocate election symbols to itself,” he alleged.

He said that two provincial assemblies have passed the resolution that the election commission is biased, after which they are filing a reference against the Chief Election Commissioner.

It should be noted that a petition has been submitted in the Islamabad High Court against the election commission’s decision to accept the resignation of 11 MNAs.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had recently accepted the first batch of 11 PTI MNAs resignations. In April, PTI MNAs had submitted their resignation after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister.

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