In a surprising move, the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday approved the resignations of 35 lawmakers of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
A notification in this regard was also issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The move comes amid threats from the PTI to return to parliament only to foil a vote of confidence which the party hoped President Dr Arif Alvi would seek from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to the notification, Ashraf accepted the resignations and issued a notification on January 17 to de-notify the lawmakers.
