Government, Opposition Reach Consensus on Appointment of Opposition Leader; Mahmood Khan Achakzai Sole Candidate

Islamabad: Following the disqualification of Omar Ayub as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, the government and opposition have reached a consensus on appointing a new opposition leader.
According to sources, Mahmood Khan Achakzai has emerged as the sole and unanimous candidate of the united opposition. The Speaker of the National Assembly has assured that Achakzai will be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition after completion of the required legal formalities.
Sources said the Speaker will fulfill all procedural requirements before issuing the official notification.
Earlier, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegation formally submitted Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s nomination for the post during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The PTI delegation included Barrister Gohar Ali, Asad Qaiser, Aamir Dogar, and Iqbal Afridi, while Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was also present during the meeting.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali said the appointment of the opposition leader would be finalized by Thursday. He stated that the Speaker holds the authority to issue the notification at any time and added that once the opposition leader is appointed in the National Assembly, the process will also be completed in the Senate.
Barrister Gohar further rejected reports of any forward bloc within PTI, saying that the party founder was, is, and will remain the chairman. He emphasized that no political committee has the authority to overturn Imran Khan’s decisions.