The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formally submitted a request to the National Assembly Secretariat for the appointment of Member of National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai as the Leader of the Opposition.
The request, backed by the signatures of 74 PTI members, was submitted to Special Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed in the absence of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and the Secretary of the National Assembly.
According to a PTI spokesperson, the request was presented by a delegation comprising Asad Qaiser, PTI Secretary General, Malik Aamir Dogar, Chief Whip of PTI in the National Assembly, Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai, PTI Spokesperson, and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, legal counsel for PTI Founding Chairman Imran Khan.
The spokesperson clarified that all PTI members currently in Pakistan signed the request. However, three PTI members Ali Afzal Sahi, Umar Farooq, and Sahibzada Sultan did not sign as they are currently abroad.
The move to nominate Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a prominent political figure, as the Leader of the Opposition underscores PTI’s strategic efforts to consolidate its position in the National Assembly. Further developments regarding the approval of the request are awaited.
Separately, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Huzaifa Rehman said on Tuesday that the Centre has asked the Punjab government to arrange a meeting between KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI founder Imran Khan to facilitate the formation of the provincial cabinet.
He claimed he had officially notified the Punjab government and the federal government of his plan to visit Adiala, but received no response, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not reply to his subsequent request, made during a phone call, to facilitate a meeting with Imran. He approached the Islamabad High Court on Friday, seeking permission to meet Imran.
Questioned about the matter in an interview, Rehman said: “I hope this meeting will take place in the coming days. The federal government has asked the provincial government to arrange this so the cabinet there (in KP) can be formed.”
Asked again whether the Centre had issued a direction for the meeting to the Punjab government, Rehman clarified that while an order could not be given since the provincial governments were autonomous, the prime minister had “urged” the provincial authorities and the federal government had also requested to “do this as soon as possible”.
Rehman added that as per his information, the Punjab government was devising a mechanism and fulfilling all “cordial formalities”, adding that the meeting would be “held soon”.