ISLAMABAD: Following de-notification of PTI members of National Assembly (MNAs) by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Friday conducted an operation to get family suites in Parliament Lodges vacated from them.

The civic agency with the help of the district administration and police got seven family suites vacated. The occupants of these suites included PTI former lawmakers Farrukh Habib, Zahoor Ahmed Qureshi, Shandana Gulzar, Shahid Ahmed Khattak, Gul Dad Khan and Arbab Amir Ayub.

Sources in the CDA said former federal education minister Shafqat Mahmood, Ali Haider Zaidi, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Maleeka Ali Bokhai and Faheem Khan voluntarily vacated their suites on Friday.

They said the remaining PTI lawmakers, who still held the official residences, had sought a few more days for vacating the suites as they were in the process of getting no-objection certificates (NOCs) from various utility service providing companies.

Former minister, five MNAs leave Parliament Lodges voluntarily, others seek few more days

They assured the CDA that they would vacate the suites voluntarily in a few days.

The officials said that a couple of months ago the CDA had got some suites vacated from lawmakers when resignations of the first batch of PTI MNAs were accepted. They said after acceptance of more resignations recently, the CDA on January 24 issued notices to around 80 lawmakers, providing them one week to vacate the official residences.

The PTI had 131 MNAs who had tendered en masse resignation in April last year after a successful no-confidence motion against then prime minister Imran Khan. The PTI had decided not to remain part of the parliament as they had claimed that their party’s government was removed through an international conspiracy.

However, the incumbent government stated that removing the prime minster through a no-confidence motion was a constitutional step.

Of the 131 lawmakers who had submitted resignations, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted the resignations of around 120 lawmakers on four occasions. According to rules, after de-notification of lawmakers by the ECP, they are not entitled to live in Parliament Lodges.

The CDA officials said they were hopeful the remaining lawmakers would voluntarily vacate the suits otherwise an operation will be conducted next week.

Before conducting today’s operation, the CDA on Thursday had approached the district magistrate for assistance to conduct the eviction operation.

The letter to the magistrate on Thursday stated: “In pursuance to cancellation of family suites at Parliament Lodges by National Assembly Secretariat dated 24-01-2023 due to de-notification order issued by ECP, vacation notices were served to the occupants/Ex-MNAs for vacation of suites, peacefully till January 31.”

It said National Assembly Secretariat was pressing hard for early vacation and handing over of the possession of family suites, adding an operation had been planned for Friday and, therefore, assistance was required.

The officials said the district magistrate provided area magistrate Mustafa Chandio and police cover to the CDA for the operation which was conducted peacefully.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2023