Speaker sets opp leader appointment process in motion

PPP protests, stages walkout over ordinance issue

ISLAMABAD:

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday initiated the process for appointing the leader of the opposition in the house in accordance with parliamentary rules, directing opposition lawmakers to submit their nomination by 3pm on Tuesday (today).

Chairing the National Assembly session, the speaker told the house that the appointment had remained pending because the matter was previously under litigation, and he had been made a party to the case. With the judicial process now concluded, he said, the procedure could move forward.

At the outset of the sitting, the house offered Fateha for the departed souls, including former MNA Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo. The speaker later formally informed lawmakers that he was initiating the process for the appointment of the leader of the opposition.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq directed opposition parties to resubmit a list of members, bearing their signatures, to the Speaker's Office by the stipulated deadline, after fixing a fresh date for the process.

Speaking on a point of order, opposition chief whip Malik Aamir Dogar of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told the house that 76 opposition members had already signed documents, nominating Mahmood Khan Achakzai as leader of the opposition and had submitted them to the Speaker's Office.

He demanded the immediate issuance of the notification but added that, in line with the Speaker's directive, the opposition would resubmit the list.

Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Naveed Qamar welcomed the initiation of the appointment process but strongly criticised the government over what he described as an ordinance issued without the President's approval.

Calling it the darkest day in Pakistan's parliamentary history, he alleged that an ordinance had been promulgated without the President's consent, describing it as a grave constitutional violation. Declaring the move unconstitutional, Qamar announced a PPP walkout. Following his remarks, PPP lawmakers left the house in protest.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar attempted to persuade PPP members to return, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The law minister assured the PPP that he would consult the relevant authorities to determine how the ordinance had been issued.

Subsequently, PPP lawmaker Syed Hussain Tariq pointed out the lack of quorum. After a headcount confirmed that the quorum was incomplete, the speaker adjourned the session until Tuesday without any proceedings.