ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan has nominated Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as the new opposition leader in the National Assembly.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, while speaking to journalist Matiullah Jan, said that Imran Khan conveyed this decision to Ali Bukhari during their meeting at Adiala Jail on Monday. Media sources confirmed that the party has officially endorsed the nomination.
Raja added that Imran Khan has nominated Senator Azam Swati as the opposition leader in the upper house of Parliament. He further said that Khan has directed party leaders in Punjab to submit five names for consideration for the position of opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly.
This development follows the removal of PTI leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz from their positions as opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively, after their conviction in the May 9 cases by an anti-terrorism court. Ayub was also removed from the Public Accounts Committee and all other standing committees.
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The Election Commission, acting on the court’s verdict, issued formal disqualification notifications against Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, and Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, who had been serving as opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly. All three leaders have challenged the decision in the Peshawar High Court.
