ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again chosen confrontation over representation, announcing a complete PTI boycott of National Assembly (NA) sessions. The move comes after the party already submitted resignations from several parliamentary committees.
Following the directives of PTI founder Imran Khan, the lawmakers will now abandon parliamentary debates and instead gather outside the Parliament House for what they call informal proceedings. Critics see this assembly boycott as a direct insult to the voters who elected them to represent their voices inside the House.
This new step was triggered after a series of disqualifications of PTI lawmakers. Former opposition leader in the NA and Senate, Omar Ayub, and Shibli Faraz were recently barred from office after being convicted in cases linked to the May 9 riots. The decisions further deepened PTI’s mounting legal troubles.
Announcing the plan, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the parliamentary party members fully back the decision. According to him, peaceful protest gatherings will now be staged outside the Parliament House. He alleged that PTI lawmakers were “disqualified unfairly” and even denied basic rights such as speaking in the assembly or celebrating Independence Day.
“We tried to present our demands in a democratic way inside the House, but our voices were silenced,” Gohar claimed while justifying the PTI boycott.
When contacted, PTI Information Secretary Waqas Akram confirmed the development. He explained that the lawmakers would still mark their attendance briefly during each session before stepping out in protest. “Our members will hold their own assembly outside the Parliament,” he remarked.
On the other hand, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed disappointment over the resignations from standing committees by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members. While chairing a House Business Advisory Committee meeting, Sadiq urged them to reconsider their decision. “I wish they should remain part of the standing committees of the House,” he stressed.
The PTI boycott highlights a growing pattern of walkouts and protests by the party, raising questions over its respect for democratic processes. By abandoning the floor of the House, PTI is seen as undermining the mandate of millions who sent them to Parliament to legislate, not to camp outside its gates.
