PPP’s Raza Rabbani asks Senate Chairman to select opposition leaders in both houses.

ISLAMABAD (Politico.pk)- Former Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has encouraged the National Assembly Speaker and Senate Chairman to select opposition leaders in both chambers of Parliament, stressing that leaving these posts empty marginalizes dissenting voices.

The posts have been vacant since August of last year, when then-opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, PTI’s Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz, were disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following convictions in crimes related to the May 9, 2023 riots.

Although the PTI has nominated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party president Mahmood Khan Achakzai as opposition leader in the National Assembly and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for the Senate, their nominations have yet to be officially announced.

In a statement made on Monday, Rabbani stated that “Parliament is incomplete,” and that “this exposes a contradiction in our democracy.”

He stated that, despite repeated declarations of Parliament’s supremacy, there is little inclination to defend it.

Noting that the political system is already under strain owing to significant polarization, Rabbani stated that under parliamentary norms, the NA speaker and Senate chairman must choose opposition leaders, emphasizing that keeping these positions unfilled undermines dissent.

He warned that such measures undermine Parliament and constitute a self-inflicted crisis inside a mixed democratic system.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced on Monday that the process of appointing the opposition leader to the National Assembly will be restarted.

He made these statements during a meeting with PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar, who visited with him to express his worries over the protracted delay in choosing the opposition leader.

Sadiq informed Dogar that the appropriate regulations for the situation were obvious.
During the discussion, Dogar presented documents proving the removal of proceedings regarding Omar Ayub from the courts. He also reiterated his demand that Achakzai be nominated as the opposition leader.

In response, Sadiq stated that all procedures would be taken rigorously in accordance with the norms, laws, and the Constitution, and that he would inform the House on the matter during the next National Assembly session.

The event occurred roughly a month after the National Assembly Secretariat contacted Dogar to inquire about the status of the cases against Ayub. The letter stated that formal explanation was necessary to complete the process of choosing an opposition leader to the lower chamber.

Ayub fought his disqualification at the Supreme Court, but he dropped his plea in October of last year. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by his disqualification, and a PML-N candidate won.

Sadiq had stated that the topic of choosing a new opposition leader was “sub judice,” presumably alluding to Ayub’s appeal against his disqualification.

The NA Secretariat wrote to Dogar last month, claiming that the opposition had said in Parliament that Ayub’s proceedings were no longer pending. “However, this fact was not conveyed to the secretariat in writing,” the letter stated, demanding official written confirmation of the present status of the cases to complete the requisite procedure for announcing the opposition’s leader in the National Assembly.

After the discussion with Dogar, the NA speaker told reporters that documentation relevant to Ayub’s cases had been received. He stated that four letters had been issued to the opposition’s chief whip about the problem, and that following the fourth letter, the opposition presented a certified copy of the relevant judgment.

Sadiq stated that the constitutional procedure to designate the new opposition leader will begin in the future parliamentary session, and that the process would proceed following the verification of opposition members’ signatures.