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Naveed Qamar Says Parliament, Not Speaker, Decides Opposition Leaders
NA member Naveed Qamar asserts that selection of opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate is a prerogative of parliamentarians, not the speaker.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-12-05
Naveed Qamar Says Parliament, Not Speaker, Decides Opposition Leaders

Member of the National Assembly Naveed Qamar stated on Thursday that the speaker of the National Assembly does not have the authority to decide who should serve as the leader of the opposition. He said this responsibility lies solely with the opposition members of parliament.

Following approval from incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formally nominated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in October to lead the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively. However, the government has not officially recognised these nominations, with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq describing the matter as “sub judice.”

In an interview with Dawn News TV on the programme Doosra Rukh, Qamar referenced past practices, noting that in 2002, Maulana Fazlur Rehman was made opposition leader despite PPP having greater representation. “At one time it was definitely the entitlement of the speaker,” he said.

Qamar explained that rules were later changed, stating that whoever has the majority within the opposition bloc submits the nomination, and that person should automatically become the leader of the opposition. “So, this is not the discretion of the speaker,” he said.

The PTI nominations followed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s disqualification in August of PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan as NA opposition leader and Shibli Faraz in the Senate, along with other opposition members, due to convictions in May 9 cases.

Qamar added that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had expressed concern in October over the government’s delay in officially recognising the party’s nominees.
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