ISLAMABAD: The embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday intensified its retreat from parliamentary engagement, with 28 more MNAs submitting resignations from the National Assembly’s standing committees.
This surge brought the total number of resignations to 47, underscoring a widening institutional boycott that threatens to paralyse parliamentary oversight.
Adding fuel to the political fire, at least six PTI lawmakers have relinquished their chairmanships of key committees – most notably Junaid Akbar, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, the top parliamentary watchdog – in what observers see as a coordinated attempt to cripple legislative scrutiny.
Talking to reporters, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, flanked by senior leaders Asad Qaiser and Aamir Dogar, accused the government of systematically stifling dissent within the corridors of power. “Our parliamentary rights have been stripped away. This is no longer a democratic house – it’s a rubber-stamp chamber,” he alleged, announcing the launch of a ‘People’s Assembly’ outside Parliament House and reaffirming their resignations from all parliamentary panels.
In response, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed hopes of persuading PTI lawmakers to reconsider. But Gohar dismissed such overtures outright. “If this is what Parliament has become, then quitting is the only option,” Gohar asserted, stressing that the PTI’s resignation from standing committees is final and a direct order from party founding chairman Imran Khan. “There is no democracy left to work within.”
The PTI’s boycott, resignations, and fiery rhetoric mark a decisive shift toward confrontation, raising serious doubts about the functionality of the National Assembly amid escalating political polarisation.
As the ruling coalition clings to an appearance of normalcy, the opposition’s walkout signals that the political storm brewing outside the Parliament gates is far from abating.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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