Pakistan: Zain Qureshi resigns as deputy parliamentary leader in National Assembly after 'indiscipline' charge
Oct 27, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], October 27 : Zain Qureshi, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has resigned from his position as the party's deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, according to ARY News on Saturday.
His resignation comes after he received a show-cause notice from the party for showing 'indiscipline' during the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment. Qureshi stated that he stepped down to facilitate an impartial inquiry.
He expressed his loyalty to PTI founder Imran Khan and his father, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, asserting, "I will remain loyal to them."
Previously, Zain Qureshi revealed that he went into hiding on his father's advice.
In a video statement, he mentioned that his father instructed him to disappear, emphasising, "I could never think of voting for this constitutional amendment." He labelled reports suggesting his support for the amendments as "baseless propaganda," ARY News reported.
Zain explained that he was summoned to Lahore by his father, who is currently imprisoned on another charge.
According to him, his father advised him against supporting the constitutional amendment in any case and noted that "misleading propaganda is being spread against me regarding my support for the constitutional amendment."
Notably, the PTI had issued show-cause notices to several parliamentary members for allegedly violating party discipline during discussions on the 26th constitutional amendment.
The PTI sent show-cause notices to Riyaz Fatiana, Zain Qureshi, Aslam Ghuman, and Muqdad Ali Khan, instructing them to respond for displaying indiscipline by breaking the party's rules.
The notice emphasised that the government aimed to undermine the independence of the judiciary with these amendments, as per ARY News.
"All PTI MNAs and Senators were directed not to support the constitution amendment bill," the notice read.
It instructed all PTI MNAs and Senators not to support the constitutional amendment bill and to remain in designated safe locations, reiterating that members were required to adhere to party directives.
