PTI Senator Zafar says he submitted letter to Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani seeking nomination
ISLAMABAD:
MWM leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas is expected to be formally designated as the Leader of Opposition in the Senate on Tuesday (today), PTI Senator Ali Zafar said on Monday. The position has remained vacant for five months.
Addressing the media in Parliament, Senator Zafar said he had submitted a letter to Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani seeking the appointment of Abbas to the post.
According to the senator, Gilani had agreed to the opposition’s demand and said that an announcement regarding Abbas’ nomination would also be made in the House.
Zafar also later wrote an article on X, stating that he had a meeting with the Senate President regarding the nomination of the opposition leader.
“[The] “The president informed me that he had approved the appointment and requested the secretariat to issue a formal notification,” Zafar said. He welcomed the decision, saying the party would be able to convey its views more effectively to the Senate.
The positions of Leader of Opposition in the Senate and National Assembly became vacant in August 2025, following the disqualification of Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub, who were Leaders of Opposition in the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament, respectively.
An ATC had found the politicians guilty in a May 9, 2023 riots case. Later, the Election Commission of Pakistan had disqualified them as legislators.
The PTI had then nominated Abbas as its candidate for the post of Leader of Opposition in the Senate and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to fill the NA post.
After a delay of several months, Achakzai was named NA opposition leader last week.
In his letter to Gilani, Senator Zafar recalled that the PTI had “duly appointed Honorable Senator Mr. Raja Nasir Abbas as the Leader of Opposition in the Senate of Pakistan”.
“The continued non-appointment of the Leader of the Opposition is not only inconsistent with the Senate Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of 2012, but also goes against well-established democratic traditions and parliamentary conventions.
He adds that “the opposition is an indispensable pillar of any democratic system. A House without a formally recognized opposition leader remains institutionally incomplete, and its ability to fulfill its constitutional role of oversight, accountability and meaningful debate is seriously compromised.”
“Parliamentary democracy is based on the balance between the Treasury and the opposition seats.
“The refusal or delay in recognizing the duly appointed Opposition Leader weakens democratic norms, erodes parliamentary decorum and sets an undesirable precedent, inconsistent with constitutional values and democratic practices.
“It is therefore once again respectfully requested that in accordance with Rule 16(3) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Senate, 2012, Senator Raja Nasir Abbas be appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Senate of Pakistan at the earliest, in the overall interest of parliamentary democracy and the smooth functioning of this august House,” it reads.
