By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), plunged deeper into confrontation with the government on Wednesday as its lawmakers began resigning from all National Assembly standing committees, acting on direct instructions from the party’s jailed founder, Imran Khan.
The move follows a wave of disqualifications by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in July and August, targeting PTI lawmakers and leaders for their alleged involvement in the violent protests that erupted on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s arrest on corruption charges. Those riots, which saw PTI supporters clash with police and attack military installations, have fueled a prolonged crackdown on the party, with several senior leaders arrested and some tried in military courts.
The mass resignations, coupled with a decision to boycott upcoming by-elections in constituencies where PTI members were disqualified, signal a sharp escalation in the party’s protest against what it calls politically motivated convictions and an unfair electoral system.
The resignations began Wednesday, with PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar announcing that party members had started submitting their resignations to the National Assembly Secretariat, with more expected to follow on Thursday. “PTI members of the National Assembly have started acting on the instructions of founding chairman Imran Khan,” Dogar said in a statement. “Many members have submitted their resignations to the National Assembly Secretariat.”
National Assembly Director General (Media) Zafar Sultan Khan confirmed that lawmakers Ali Asghar Khan and Faisal Amin had already sent their resignations to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Junaid Akbar, who stepped down as chairman of the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said there was “no room nor desire for any other decision” once Khan had issued the order. “There is no use in remaining in the standing committees if there is no momentum towards further relief for Imran or his release.”
The decision was finalised during a marathon meeting of PTI’s political committee on Wednesday. “PTI has resigned from the PAC and other committees,” lawmaker Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel. said in a video statement before a PAC meeting, which Akbar did not attend. The meeting proceeded under the chairmanship of Naveed Qamar, with audit objections from the Cabinet Division, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority on the agenda.
Mastikhel emphasised the party’s loyalty to Khan, saying the resignations were decided after a four-and-a-half-hour discussion and reflected the former prime minister’s “full trust” in the political committee. “As the decision was taken in the late hours of the night, today we also have a parliamentary party meeting … whatever Mr. Khan orders, we will follow accordingly,” he said.
The PTI also announced it would boycott by-elections in constituencies where its members were disqualified due to convictions related to the May 9 riots, calling those lawmakers its “true representatives.” The ECP has scheduled by-elections for September 18 in NA-66 Wazirabad, NA-129 Lahore-XIII, and PP-87 Mianwali-III, with additional polls on October 5 in constituencies including NA-96 Faisalabad-II and NA-104 Faisalabad-X. The ruling coalition, comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has declared it will jointly contest these elections nationwide.
However, the PTI made an exception for the NA-129 constituency in Lahore, left vacant by the death of Mian Azhar. Hammad Azhar, the late lawmaker’s son, clarified on X that while the party would boycott by-elections in constituencies where members were “unjustly disqualified,” the situation in NA-129 was different. “He (Imran) also said that due to the demise, someone from Mian Azhar’s family or a candidate nominated by Hammad Azhar will contest the election from here,” Hammad wrote. The political committee confirmed it would field a candidate in this seat, marking a rare deviation from the boycott strategy.
Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, has been detained in Adiala Jail since his arrest in May 2023. His incarceration has galvanized PTI supporters, who view the legal cases against him and other party leaders as a politically motivated campaign by the PML-N-led government and the powerful military establishment. The PTI’s decision to resign from parliamentary committees and boycott by-elections reflects Khan’s broader strategy of rejecting what he calls a “flawed” political process.
The party’s political committee expressed alarm over daily hearings in the Toshakhana trial, a case involving allegations of Khan’s misuse of state gifts, held at Adiala Jail. The committee argued that these proceedings “affect the fundamental rights of the accused” and obstruct justice. Earlier this month, PTI lawmakers staged a vocal protest in the National Assembly against the ongoing convictions and disqualifications, accusing the government of targeting their leadership to weaken the opposition.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, speaking on local television, urged PTI lawmakers to reconsider their resignations, emphasising the importance of standing committees in parliamentary work. “I think the standing committees have a very important role, so they should review the decision to resign from them,” Tarar said. He noted that he had attended every session of a Senate standing committee chaired by PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar out of respect and that the government had complied with Zafar’s orders. Tarar also praised the contributions of PTI lawmakers in committees, saying efforts were always made to engage them in dialogue.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, however, blamed the government for the resignations, arguing that committee chairmen’s orders were routinely ignored. Raja also dismissed the value of participating in by-elections, alleging that results were “already rigged and predecided.”
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