ISLAMABAD: On Monday, Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq convened a meeting to review the nomination of Mahmood Khan Achakzai for the role of Opposition Leader.
Sources revealed that senior officials from the Legislative Branch of the National Assembly attended the session, providing a briefing on Achakzai’s nomination for the opposition leadership.The Speaker instructed officials to authenticate the signatures of all 74 opposition members who backed Achakzai’s nomination. The discussion also covered Rule 39 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, which pertains to the appointment of the Opposition Leader.
It was decided that the process would not be expedited, and a final decision would be made only after completing the signature verification. Sources added that the Speaker is not under any strict timeline to announce the appointment. During the meeting, officials informed that all 74 signatures were from members who supported Achakzai as an independent candidate. It was also clarified that there is no officially recognized parliamentary group called Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Sunni Ittehad Council within the National Assembly.
Previously, PTI had authorized Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas as the designated Leaders of the Opposition in the National Assembly and the Senate, respectively. PTI members in the National Assembly had signed in favor of Achakzai’s nomination, while Senators also endorsed Allama Nasir Abbas for the Senate opposition role.
This isn’t the first instance of Achakzai being proposed for the Opposition Leader position. In August 2025, PTI founder Imran Khan had nominated Achakzai for the National Assembly role and Azam Khan Swati for the Senate opposition leadership. However, the nominations were suspended a day later by PTI in both houses.
