- The government and opposition senators are discussing the issue in the Senate, Tarar said.
- Zafar also wrote to the Senate President regarding the opposition leader.
- Said a vacancy raising questions about the parliamentary system.
The Treasury and Opposition benches have agreed on the name of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas as Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Ali Zafar’s lawyer said on Monday.
The development came a week after Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai was appointed Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly.
Speaking to the media, the PTI leader said that Senate President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Treasury and Opposition senators had consulted on the appointment of the Opposition Leader to the Senate.
Confirming the development, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the MWM chief – a PTI ally – would be the leader of the opposition in the Senate, adding that a notification in this regard was underway.
The post has been vacant since August last year, when Shibli Faraz, then leader of the opposition in the upper house of parliament, was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following his conviction in cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
The PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate had earlier written a letter to the Senate President, urging the appointment of an opposition leader to the upper house of parliament.
The PTI leader told the Senate President that his party had nominated the MWM chief for the post and urged that he be appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Senate without delay.
Zafar said the position of opposition leader was crucial in a parliamentary democracy, adding that the position was essential for effective governance, constitutional oversight and transparency of the parliamentary system.
The vacant post of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate raises questions about the parliamentary system, the PTI leader added.
He stressed that without a leader of the opposition, the House remains institutionally incomplete.
