Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday confirmed that Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas would be notified as the Leader of the opposition in the Senate.
Talking to the media, the law minister said: “Allama Raja Nasir Abbas will be the opposition leader and a notification in this regard is being issued.”
The development came a week after Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
Separately, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Ali Zafar said that the treasury and opposition benches have agreed on the name of MWM chief — an ally of the Imran Khan-founded party — as leader of the opposition in the Senate.
Talking to the media, the PTI leader said Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and senators from the treasury and opposition benches had consulted on the appointment of the leader of the opposition in the Senate.
The post has been lying vacant since August last year, when the then-opposition leader in the upper house of the parliament Shibli Faraz was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following his conviction in cases related to riots on May 9, 2023.
The PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate, earlier, penned a letter to the Senate chairman, urging the appointment of a leader of the opposition in the upper house of the parliament.
The PTI leader told the Senate chairman that his party has nominated MWM chief for the post and urged that he be appointed as the opposition leader in the Senate without any delay.
Zafar said the office of the opposition leader was crucial in a parliamentary democracy, adding that the position was essential for effective governance, constitutional oversight and transparency in the parliamentary system.
The vacant post of leader of the opposition in the Senate is raising questions about the parliamentary system, the PTI leader added.
He noted that without a leader of the opposition, the House remained institutionally incomplete.
