By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the opposition party founded by the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, pressed anew on Monday for the appointment of Mahmood Khan Achakzai as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, asserting that all legal hurdles had been cleared after months of delays tied to court cases and disqualifications.
Aamir Dogar, the party’s chief whip in the lower house, met with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and submitted documents confirming the withdrawal of pending cases against Omar Ayub Khan, the previous opposition leader whose ouster last summer left the post vacant. Dogar dismissed reports of backchannel contacts, saying he had personally reiterated the party’s demand. “The speaker was informed that PTI had resolved all concerns and that there was no longer any impediment to notifying the opposition leader,” Dogar told reporters.
He said the nomination of Achakzai, who heads the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, had been made by Khan and endorsed by the party, “leaving no ambiguity over the candidate’s legitimacy.”
Sadiq, in response, assured that “everything will be done in accordance with the law and the constitution,” according to a post on the National Assembly’s account on X. He said he would share updates with the House during its next session and that “the process for the appointment of the opposition leader will be initiated afresh.”
The push comes amid broader political friction in Pakistan, where the opposition has rebuffed government overtures for dialogue. Sadiq told reporters earlier Monday that “the opposition had not yet made any formal contact to initiate a dialogue,” describing his own role as merely that of a facilitator. He noted that the committee system in Parliament was functioning as required and affirmed his independence in the position.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly extended offers for talks, but only on “legitimate matters,” as he put it last month. The PTI, however, has stood firm against negotiations, with its information secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, saying the stance followed instructions from Khan. At a recent conference of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan opposition alliance, participants agreed that “the door for dialogue must never be closed in a democracy,” though the PTI has shown no signs of relenting.
The opposition leader vacancy stems from the Election Commission of Pakistan’s disqualification of Ayub in August, following his conviction in cases related to the May 9 unrest, protests that erupted after Khan’s arrest. Shibli Faraz, the opposition leader in the Senate, was also removed that day.
Khan nominated Achakzai for the National Assembly post the same month, but the notification has lingered. Ayub challenged his disqualification in the Supreme Court but withdrew the plea in October. Sadiq had cited the matter as “sub judice,” delaying action. The assembly secretariat sent four letters to Dogar seeking clarification on Ayub’s cases — on Nov. 19, Dec. 5, Dec. 19, and Dec. 29 — noting that while the opposition mentioned in Parliament that the cases were no longer before the courts, “this fact was not conveyed to the secretariat in writing.”
On Jan. 1, the PTI submitted a formal reply, urging swift notification. Dogar, joined by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and other lawmakers, visited the legislation secretary to provide the documents. “There is now no pending court case related to the opposition leader’s slot,” Dogar said at Parliament House.
Sadiq said the process would advance “after checking and verification of the signatures of the opposition members,” and that PTI lawmakers were prepared to verify their identities if needed.
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