Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani has urged the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker to move ahead with appointing leaders of the opposition in both houses of Parliament, warning that keeping these positions vacant marginalises dissenting voices.  The offices have remained unfilled since August 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) after their convictions in cases linked to the May 9, 2023 riots. 

Although the PTI has nominated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as opposition leader in the National Assembly and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for the Senate, their appointments have yet to be officially notified.  In a statement issued on Monday, Rabbani said that “Parliament is incomplete”, adding that “this exposes a contradiction in our democracy”.  He said that despite frequent claims about the supremacy of Parliament, there is little willingness to truly uphold it. 

Noting that the political system is already under pressure due to deep polarisation, Rabbani said that under parliamentary rules, the NA speaker and the Senate chairman are required to appoint opposition leaders, stressing that leaving these posts vacant sidelines dissent.  He cautioned that such actions weaken Parliament and amount to a self-inflicted crisis within a hybrid democratic setup. 

Regarding the appointment of the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said on Monday that the process would now begin afresh.  He made these remarks during a meeting with PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar, who met him to raise concerns over the prolonged delay in appointing the opposition leader.  Sadiq told Dogar that the relevant rules on the matter were clear. During the meeting, Dogar submitted documents confirming the withdrawal of cases involving Omar Ayub from the courts.

He also repeated the demand that Achakzai be appointed as the opposition leader.  In response, Sadiq said all steps would be taken strictly in line with the rules, laws and the Constitution, adding that he would brief the House on the issue in the next National Assembly session.  The development came about a month after the National Assembly Secretariat wrote to Dogar seeking details about the status of cases against Ayub.

The letter said written clarification was required to complete the process of appointing an opposition leader in the lower house.  Ayub had challenged his disqualification in the Supreme Court but withdrew his petition in October last year. The by-election for the seat vacated due to his disqualification was subsequently held and won by a PML-N candidate.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)