Five more MNAs of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) resigned from National Assembly standing committees on Thursday, following directives from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, sources confirmed.
With the latest resignations, the total number of SIC MNAs who have stepped down from committees has reached 52. However, National Assembly sources clarified that 22 of these resignations have not yet been received by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s office.
Reports suggest that Speaker Sadiq has not acted on the resignations so far, as the PML-N government has requested him to withhold approval.
At the same time, 25 SIC lawmakers have not tendered their resignations, including Saleem Rehman, Suhail Sultan, Muhammad Basheer, Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Muhammad Atif, Khawaja Shiraz, Mahmood Zulfiqar Ali, Naseem Ali Shah, Sher Afzal Khan, Usama Ahmed Mela, Ghulam Muhammad, Riaz Fatyana, and Sher Ali Arbab.
Last week, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan told reporters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail that the former prime minister had directed PTI lawmakers to resign from all parliamentary committees. She added that all of Khan’s sisters were able to meet him in jail for the first time in four months.
Aleema said the PTI founder was in good health but experiencing some pressure in one of his eyes.