National Assembly set to axe PTI’s Waqas Sheikh over prolonged absence

ISLAMABAD – National Assembly is gearing up to axe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI leader Waqas Sheikh over no-show in house.

A motion has been submitted in lower house of parliament to end membership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram due to his prolonged and unexplained absence from parliamentary sessions.

Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq informed the House that PTI lawmaker from NA-109 Jhang-II remained absent for the past 40 days without providing any formal notice or leave application. Citing Assembly’s rules, NA Speaker said any member can move a motion to vacate a seat if another member remains absent without permission, and upon House approval, the seat can be declared vacant.

PML-N lawmaker Nousheen Iftikhar tabled formal motion demanding that Sheikh Waqas Akram’s seat be declared vacant due to his continued absenteeism.

On the other hand, Opposition members strongly objected to motion, questioning attendance records of PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz. However, the Assembly Secretariat clarified that both leaders had officially submitted their leave applications, while no such documentation has been received from Akram.

According to parliamentary procedure, even if Sheikh Waqas submits a leave request after the motion has been filed, the motion remains valid and will still need to be decided through a vote.

Read more: PTI Announces Second Phase of Protest Movement on August 14

The development comes days after Election Commission disqualified nine lawmakers inlcuding Senator Shibli Faraz, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Zartaj Gul, Junaid Afzal Sahi, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Haider Ali, and Rai Murtaza Iqbal.