National assembly speaker offered to resign: Sheikh Rasheed

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq offered to resign from his position if members of the house did not have faith in his abilities to run the affairs and think that he is biased in his decisions, according to Sheikh Rasheed.

According to Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rasheed, Ayaz Sadiq made the offer during the parliamentary leaders meeting held on Friday over an unfortunate incident a day earlier when the Parliament turned into a battlefield on Thursday.

While speaking to the media following the meeting, Rasheed said the scuffle in the National Assembly would not have taken place had the speaker been impartial and neutral.

He added that if Sadiq would have stood up with the opposition he would have honoured not only democracy but his position as a speaker as well.  

Sadiq also spoke to the media after the meeting on the same day. On the occasion, he called PTI MNA Shehryar Afridi a stranger to the assembly, saying he has not declared his assets yet.

The speaker’s statement agitated PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who rubbished the allegations, saying the speaker was being biased. Qureshi told the media he would not let the assembly session take place if Afridi’s membership was suspended.

However, according to data available on the website of Election Commission of Pakistan, Afridi's membership stands suspended over not submitting his statement of assets and liabilities for 2015-16.