Several PTI senators have resigned from their respective senate standing committees on Thursday, saying that they had made the move in line with the instructions of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
To date, seven senators have resigned from the Senate standing committees, comprising Dost Muhammad, Zeeshan Khanzada, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Falak Naz, and Aon Abbas Buppi.
The progress arrives two weeks after the PTI asserted that around 30 of its lawmakers had quit their membership in parliamentary committees, while the National Assembly Secretariat only acknowledged the receipt of 20 resignations.
The resignation letters from all seven senators, reviewed by Dawn.com, indicated that the choice was made “voluntarily” at the instructions of Imran.
They stepped down from all their respective standing committees, condemning Imran’s imprisonment and the “erosion of democratic standards” following the recent disqualification of PTI legislators.
Imran, who has been incarcerated since August 2023, is currently sentenced at Adiala Jail for a £190 million corruption case and is also dealing with ongoing trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act concerning the protests that occurred on May 9, 2023.
“I can no longer ethically serve on Senate committees when the state is the leading offender of the rights and protections these committees are intended to uphold,” Swati stated in his letter.
Referring to the recent disqualification of PTI legislators, he remarked that the authorities were “systematically eroding” the pillars of democracy, the judicial system, and fundamental rights of citizens.
He emphasized that the “collapse started with a seriously erroneous ruling written by Justice Qazi Faez Isa,” which took away PTI’s symbol — the bat, and was succeeded by the “misuse of Form-47” in the 2024 general elections.
“This resignation serves as a protest not only for my party but also to respect the decision of my party leader Imran Khan, the laws of our great nation, and the Constitution of Pakistan, which today feels abandoned, disrespected, and overlooked.”
Swati called on lawmakers, judges, and the public to raise their voices “before the opportunity for disagreement is entirely eliminated.”
In their letters, both Senator Khanzada and Dost Muhammad remarked: “The intentional denial of Justice has forced me and him to take this action as a form of protest.”
Buppi, Afridi, Mohmand, and Falak Naz stated in their letters that they too were resigning in accordance with the instructions of Imran Khan.
Mohmand, in his statement, criticised the state, saying that “the lawful avenue through which we can register [our] complaint has been blocked,” citing the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The senators resigned from the following committees:
- Swati — cabinet secretariat, economic affairs, law and justice, national health services, regulation and coordination, and rules of procedure and privileges.
- Dost Muhammad — government assurances, human rights, national food security & research, poverty alleviation and social safety, and railways.
- Khanzada — Overseas Pakistanis & human resource department, foreign affairs, finance, commerce, and privatisation.
- Afridi — commerce, federal education and professional training, inter-provincial coordination, industrial and production, and power.
- Buppi — Industries & production, poverty alleviation & social safety, religious affairs and interfaith harmony, defence production, and information and broadcasting.
- Mohmand — parliamentary affairs, human rights, national health services and regulation, water resources, information technology and telecommunication.
- Falak Naz — federal education & professional training, economic affairs, climate change, and problems of less developed areas.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified many PTI members and leaders in July and August for their roles in the May 9, 2023, riots against Imran’s arrest, which sparked protests in the National Assembly. As a result, PTI lawmakers resigned from membership and chairmanship of all standing committees in the NA last month.