ISLAMABAD, Nov 06 (DNA): National Assembly (NA) former speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Friday was sworn in as Member of National Assembly (MNA) among four elected members. Sadiq was sworn in among Riazul Haq Juj, Babar Nawaz Khan and Dr Shazia Soomro while five are yet to be administered. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is also returning to the Parliament after 85 days since it handed in its resignations on the 12th of August. MQM has decided to take back resignations from Sindh Assembly as well.

Acting NA Speaker Murtaza Javed Abassi administered the ceremony. The election for the NA Speaker will be held on November 9. Nomination papers can be filed until Sunday midnight 12am. Abassi has issued schedule of the election.

Sadiq reached the Parliament with “unwarranted” protocol for the ceremony. MNA Sadiq returned to the Parliament with a Speaker s protocol. Upon Sadiq’s arrival, in a casual talk with media he was asked about the protocol to which he maintained that his helpers have worked with him for at least two and a half years. Returning to the Parliament feel like coming home, he added.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated Sadiq to contest for the NA Speaker while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has forwarded Shafqat Mehmood’s name in the matter. Pakistan People s Party (PPP) has boycotted the Parliament proceedings today. However, the opposition party has decided to not stand a candidate against PML-N s Sadiq.

Sadiq was elected from NA-122 constituency after he defeated PTI’s Aleem Dar in tribunal-ordered re-election in October. Sadiq is a member of the National Assembly however, the protocol he came today with was that of a speaker’s.

On the other hand, Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah has said that the government has included other activities in the agenda in addition to election for the NA Speaker. He denounced the inclusion and said that the election should be the only thing carried on with.

MQM submitted an application for the withdrawal of its mass resignations to the chamber of the current Speaker, after successful negotiations with the government. Members of NA Sheikh Salah-ud-Din and Sajjad Ahmed submitted an application for withdrawal of 22 out of 24 of its parliamentarians’ resignation letters. Two MQM parliamentarians Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Asif Hussnain could not submit their application as they were out of the country.

After withdrawing its resignations, it has yet to be seen whom MQM nominates to contest the NA Speaker election.

MQM parliamentarians handed in their resignation in for alleged victimization in Karachi operation and reservations over minus-Altaf formula. MQM chief Altaf Hussain had endorsed the decision of resigning from Senate, National Assembly and Sindh Assembly. He said that no one was listening to his party members’ genuine grievances. The MQM has 24 seats in the National Assembly, 51 seats in the Sindh Assembly and eight seats in the Senate.

MQM had earlier expressed its reservations to the US as well and reached out to the Obama administration to impress upon the Pakistani leadership particularly security forces not to target its members in Karachi in the name of counter-terrorism operations.

Federal government had then formed a committee to address Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) reservations regarding resignations from National Assembly. DNA