The government and opposition have reached a consensus on appointing a new opposition leader following the disqualification of PTI’s Omar Ayub as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly,
According to sources, Achakzai will be the sole candidate of the united opposition. NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq assured that Achakzai will be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition after completing the required legal formalities.
Sources said the NA speaker will fulfill all procedural requirements before issuing the notification for the appointment.
Earlier, the PTI on Tuesday formally requested the appointment of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai as the National Assembly (NA) opposition leader.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed the submission of Achakzai’s nomination papers to NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. This is the second time that the party has formally proposed his name for the opposition leader’s post in the lower house of Parliament.
The development comes a day after Sadiq began afresh the process for the appointment of the opposition leader – a slot that has been lying vacant for almost five months since the disqualification of PTI’s Omar Ayub in August 2025.
Addressing the NA speaker, the written proposal for Achakzai’s nomination – dated January 12 – stated: “We, the undersigned members of the National Assembly belonging to the opposition benches, have the honour to nominate Mehmood Khan Achakzai MNA (NA-266) for appointment as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan.”
It referred to rule 39 of the Rules of Procedures of Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, saying that the “leader of the opposition is to be appointed from among the members of the house who belong to the opposition and who commands the confidence of the majority of the members sitting on the opposition benches”.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby affirm that Mehmood Khan Achakzai enjoys the confidence and support of the majority of the members belonging to the opposition, and is, therefore, the most suitable person to hold this constitutional office.
“The timely appointment of the leader of the opposition will ensure the effective discharge of constitutional and parliamentary responsibilities entrusted to the opposition,” it read.
The document added: “We therefore request that, after following necessary procedures for the appointment of the leader of the opposition in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the previous parliamentary practices, MNA Mehmood Khan Achakzai may please be appointed as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan at the earliest.”
Separately, Barrister Gohar confirmed while speaking to a private TV channel in Parliament that Achakzai’s nomination papers had been submitted.
The PTI chairman said he was expecting that the PkMAP leader would be notified as the new leader of the opposition in the NA on Thursday.
In response to a question, he said his party had just one nominee for the vacant slot – Achakzai – and only his nomination papers had been submitted.
Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan had named Achakzai for the opposition leader’s slot in the NA in August last year, nearly two weeks after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified him following his conviction in cases pertaining to riots on May 9, 2023.