ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) agreed on Saturday that there should be a new leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. The consensus was reached as PTI Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi talked to MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar on the phone. The two leaders also decided to meet soon. Talking to the media, Qureshi said his party had also expedited consultations on a new opposition leader in the National Assembly. A move, spearheaded by the MQM-P, is under way to replace Leader of the Opposition in the NA Syed Khursheed Shah with Qureshi. MQM is said to be very ‘annoyed’ with the PPP over various issues in Karachi. Qureshi said he had been in contact with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and would also contact MQM-P and other parties regarding the matter. He said the PTI had no desire to change the leader of the opposition, and had no issues with any one person, but it was afraid of collusion. “The party has begun the process of consultation, and is set to meet MQM’s Farooq Sattar on Sept 26,” he said. Referring to the passage of the Electoral Reforms Bill 2017, he said his party would challenge it in court. He said that the party, after consultations, would make a final decision on challenging the bill. Qureshi alleged that Sharif and ex-president Asif Zardari are in touch with each other, adding that three PPP leaders ? former Senate chairman Farooq H Naek, Fateh Muhammad Hasni and Rubina Khalid – did not follow the line of the rest of the members including the opposition leader, and voted in the government’s favour on the bill. The PTI leader claimed Zardari had been in touch with the PML-N due to the fear of his potential disqualification. The Senate on Friday had passed the Electoral Reforms Bill 2017, paving the way for Nawaz Sharif to again regain chairmanship of PML-N. He said that the PTI senators who were not present in the House at the time of voting were being issued show cause notice. “First of all parliamentary leader in Senate Noman Wazir has been issued notice for his absence from the House,” he said. He said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was not yet ready to accept that he was the prime minister. “Abbasi himself says that Nawaz Sharif is the prime minister,” he said. The PTI leader said the time has come “to get rid of corrupt leaders in Sindh”. “The people of Sindh are not happy with [the performance] of the PPP,” Mehmood claimed during, adding that many of PPP’s members had joined the PTI. He said that the PPP was only able to secure an “insignificant 1,414 votes” in the NA-120 by-polls. “The PML-N and the PPP have lost their standing. PTI is the product of PML-N and PPP’s failures. The nation now looks to PTI [for a better future],” he said. Published in Daily Times, September 24th 2017.