Muristek
Islamabad, April 11
Legislators from ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party announced they are resigning en mass from the Lower House of Parliament on Monday in protest against the formation of a new government by his political opponents on Monday.
"We are announcing we are all resigning," Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former Foreign Minister and vice-president of Khan's party, said in a speech in the Assembly ahead of the vote to elect a new Prime Minister.
Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote by the same Assembly in the early hours of Sunday.
Meanwhile, GEO TV quoted sources as saying that Imran Khan has also decided to quit as a member of the National Assembly.
"We will not sit in this Assembly under any circumstances," sources privy to the matter quoted Khan as saying.
He said that PTI will not sit in the Assembly with the people who have robbed Pakistan and who have been "imported by foreign forces".
"We have made this decision to keep the institutions under pressure who want this government to run the country [...] we will not let them continue," said Khan.
In a tweet shared on the official twitter account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Khan said, "The man who has 16 billion and 8 billion rupees of corruption cases, whoever selects and elects the Prime Minister can not be a big insult to the country. We are resigning from the National Assembly."
جس آدمی پر 16 ارب اور 8 ارب روپے کے کرپشن کیسز ہیں،اسے جو بھی وزیراعظم سلیکٹ اور الیکٹ کرتا ہے اس سے بڑی ملک کی توہین نہیں ہو سکتی۔ہم قومی اسمبلی سے استعفے دے رہے ہیں، عمران خان#امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور pic.twitter.com/hzQf7y1fDe
— PTI (@PTIofficial) April 11, 2022However, sources said that most of the party members opposed Khan's decision to tender resignations, and instead, advised that they should face the Opposition strongly at every front.
Khan responded, saying "I will resign even if I am left alone." Opposition candidate and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi are in the race to become the new premier.
The process of electing the new leader of the house began on Sunday after Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House. Agencies