- NA opposition leader position lying vacant since August last year.
- Only one nomination filed for opposition leader slot: PTI chairman.
- Barrister Gohar rejects existence of any “forward bloc” within PTI.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has said that Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai will be notified as opposition leader in the National Assembly by Thursday.
Speaking to a media representative in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Barrister Gohar said that the nomination papers of Achakzai — who is also the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman — have been submitted, and verification is expected to be completed by tomorrow (Wednesday).
He said that so far, only one nomination has been made.
Speaking on the party’s internal matters, Barrister Gohar said that there is no forward bloc within the PTI, reaffirming that Imran Khan will always be the party’s chief.
“Khan Sahib was, he is, and will be the PTI chairman,” he asserted. Barrister Gohar said that no political decision or apex committee can alter “Khan Sahib’s decision.”
PTI was forced to nominate new opposition leaders in both houses after Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz were removed from their parliamentary positions on August 9 following their convictions in the May 9 cases.
In a separate development, PTI Chief Whip Malik Aamir Dogar, in a letter to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, maintained that the majority of the opposition has “unanimously” nominated Achakzai as the opposition leader.
The letter read that the post has remained vacant since August last year, saying that under democratic traditions, the opposition has the right to choose its own leader.
The PTI chief whip urged the speaker to immediately issue a notification in accordance with Rule 39 of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure and Conduct, 2007.
A day earlier, the PTI delegation led by Barrister Gohar met Speaker Sadiq with regard to the notification of the leader of the opposition.
It was learnt that besides Barrister Gohar, Asad Qaiser, Aamir Dogar, Atif Khan, and other MNAs were present in the meeting, who had assured them about the appointment of the opposition leader by Thursday, The News reported.
The speaker National Assembly had asked the opposition to submit their suggestions for the nomination of the opposition leader by 3pm on January 13.
Speaker Sadiq said that the signatures of MNAs on the nominations will be verified and counted on January 14, after which the appointment of the opposition leader will be announced.
