Saner judicial advice.

Hearing a petition of the party against verdict of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the issue of acceptance of the resignations of the PTI members by the Speaker in a piecemeal manner, a two-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ayesha Malik said that the IHC has given a clear ruling on the phase-wise acceptance of MNAs' resignations, adding that the Speaker has the legal right to accept the resignations of MNAs.

Prima facie, if the Speaker's rights are infringed upon, it will attract Article 69. The top court has repeatedly asked PTI to return to the Assembly and play its role there in legislative and other business as mandated by the people of Pakistan.

The latest counselling comes on the heels of a similar advice by IHC when the court also held the decision of then Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri about acceptance of resignations of 123 MNAs belonging to PTI as unconstitutional.

The issue has several dimensions including questions about powers and authority of the Speaker, non-representation of these constituencies in the National Assembly for months, huge expenditure involved in holding by-elections if all the resignations are accepted, enthusiastic participation of the PTI in all the by-elections and its tacit decision not to resign from the provincial assemblies of the Punjab and KP where PTI has its own governments.

The Supreme Court justifiably pointed out to the party's counsel that people elected his clients for a term of five years and the party should play its role in Parliament.

There is also a contradiction in the policy of the party as its members claim to have resigned from the Assembly but continue to receive salaries and fringe benefits as MNAs and claim rights and privileges as members whenever it suits them.

The party also alleges that the decision of the incumbent Speaker to accept resignations in a phased-wise manner is malafide but the Speaker has the power to do so as and when he is satisfied that procedural formalities have been met for the purpose.

It is also rightly pointed out that if Qasim Suri had the powers to accept resignations of 123 MNAs with one stroke of the pen and that too when laid down procedure was not followed, then why can't the incumbent Speaker exercise his powers in this regard.

In this backdrop the CJP...