ISLAMABAD    -    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will Thursday (today) take up a petition moved by the 10 PTI MNAs against acceptance of their resignations by the Speaker National Assembly and subsequently de-notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah will conduct hearing of the petition filed by PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan and nine others whose resignations were accepted by the Speaker National Assembly and subsequently de-notified by ECP. They approached the court through Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and cited Speaker NA, Secretary NA, ECP and federation through Secretary Cabinet as respondents. In the petition, Barrister Zafar stated that the 10 petitioners, along with 113 other PTI MNAs, enmasse tendered their resignations on the party directions and were subject to all the 123 members of the National Assembly belonging to PTI resigning and being de-seated in tandem, jointly and as a whole. Barrister Zafar has taken a ground in the petition that the Speaker did not conduct any due enquiry nor any verification from the petitioners as required by the Constitution. He further stated that while accepting the resignations, the speaker did not follow requirements of Article 64 as laid down by the Superior Courts of Pakistan. He added that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had held in various judgments that under Article 64 of the Constitution the speaker while receiving the resignation has a duty to ascertain personally whether the resignation was signed by the person resigning, whether it was voluntary and whether it was intended to act as a resignation. He also said that unless the said three requirements of the resignation were satisfied and proved, the resignation cannot be given effect as a ‘resignation’ under Article 64 and the speaker is required to conduct an enquiry.