Sindh Assembly: PPP bars lawmakers from submitting resignations

(Karachi) The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has asked its lawmakers to not submit resignations from Sindh Assembly as decided by the Pakistan Democratic Movement, till consultation with party's Central Executive Committee, Samaa News reported on Thursday.

The latest development comes after some PPP leaders began sharing their resignations on social media soon after the PDM leadership said that they would resign from the assemblies.

The PDM, an alliance of opposition parties, had decided that its MNAs and MPAs would leave the national and provincial assemblies in protest against the PTI government.

As part of PDM's anti-government movement plan, the opposition lawmakers were asked to resign from the National Assembly and all four provincial assemblies. However, the PPP backed from the decision to resign from Sindh Assembly where it has majority seats.

As per media reports, the PPP has put forward a condition that the decision to withdraw from the Sindh Assembly, and give up control of the province, would be made after resignations were tendered from other assemblies.

Senior PPP leaders have told parliamentarians not to act with haste and to only resign after the party makes a decision. They said this is a big decision and the CEC will decide on it.

On October 8, the PDM decided that opposition lawmakers will resign from the National Assembly. The decision was made at a PDM meeting in Islamabad.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif suggested at the PDM meeting that opposition lawmakers submit their resignations to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman which was agreed by all parties.

The JUI-F chief said that opposition lawmakers would submit their resignations to their party leaders by December 31. Opposition parties would not withdraw their resignations like the PTI did in 2014, he added.