Daily Times

In a surprising turn of events, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), a party predominantly composed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, submitted the name of Omar Ayub Khan for the position of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly. The nomination was formally presented to the office of the National Assembly Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on Saturday.

Malik Amir Dogar presented documents of Ayub’s nomination to the NA speaker. Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Ali Muhammad Khan, Riaz Fatiana, and Dr Nisar Jat, among other opposition members were also present on the occasion. The realisation that the formal process of appointing a leader of the opposition had not been completed struck the PTI-SIC coalition during the National Assembly session on Friday.

The revelation occurred when former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser urged the current NA Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, to give the floor to the leader of the opposition, as was the tradition during Qaiser’s tenure. Qaiser pointed out that the opposition leader should be given the floor whenever demanded, as per past practice.

Sadiq, in response, questioned who had declared Omar Ayub as the opposition leader, humorously suggesting that Omar Ayub had assumed the role on his own. The speaker guided the PTI-SIC lawmakers, stating that they needed to follow the formal process, and only then would Omar Ayub officially become the opposition leader.

As a result, officials from the PTI-SIC coalition promptly submitted the required documents to the Speaker’s office today, ensuring that the necessary procedural steps were taken to formalise Omar Ayub Khan’s candidacy for the position of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.