‘I’m not duty bound to give any time frame to name the opposition leader’

Nisar Khuhro says that rules to appoint one had not been updated after the 18th amendment.

KARACHI: Sindh Assembly speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said on Thursday that he is under no obligation to give a time frame for the appointment of an opposition leader of the Sindh Assembly.

The seat has been lying vacant since July 2011, when Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Jam Madad Ali left it to become a provincial minister after his party joined the coalition government. But in September last year, PML-F had a disagreement with the government over the Sindh Peoples Local Government Act and managed to obtain seats on the opposition benches. Shortly after, seven PML-F members along with two from the National Peoples Party (NPP) and one from the Awami National Party (ANP) signed an application to nominate Nusrat Sehar Abbasi as the opposition leader.

Talking to the media after meeting the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Libya, Kamal BA Dhan, Khuhro said the application to appoint PML-F MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi as the opposition leader has been signed by only 10 legislators. “There are a total of 24 opposition legislators in Sindh Assembly, but I have received nominations from only 10 of them. Most of the opposition members are not with PML-F,” he said.



Khuhro added that the two MPAs from NPP and ANP who have supported the nomination of Nusrat Sehar Abbasi are not parliamentary leaders of their parties. “The nomination of opposition leaders must be supported by parliamentary leaders of the parties otherwise it will raise questions about floor-crossing.”

Khuhro also pointed out that the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (Like-minded) has also moved an application to appoint its member Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim as the opposition leader, but the house had de-seated him in March last year and the matter is pending before the court.

He also said that the rules to appoint an opposition leader for the provincial legislatures has not been updated since the 18th Amendment was passed.

Given all of this, he argued, the speaker is not bound to give any time frame for appointment of the opposition leader. He also said that the provincial government has asked the law department to update the rules to appoint an opposition leader.

Khuhro was quick to add that the current absence of an opposition will not hinder the appointment of a caretaker chief minister and the formation of a provincial government. He said that this will be done with the consensus of all political parties. He said the government is complying with all the decisions of the Supreme Court and the appearance of the two elected prime ministers before the judiciary proves this.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2013.