ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has nominated Mahmood Khan Achakzai as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Azam Khan Swati as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, ARY News reported.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja confirmed the nominations, stating that the party has finalized its decisions for leadership positions in both houses of parliament.
The nominations follow the recent vacancies of three key PTI positions in the National Assembly—Opposition Leader, Parliamentary Leader, and Deputy Parliamentary Leader—after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified several PTI lawmakers.
Among those disqualified were National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, following convictions related to the May 9 riots cases. Notifications from the ECP cited Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, which bars convicted individuals from holding parliamentary seats.
Other disqualified lawmakers include NA members Zartaj Gul, Rai Haider Ali, SIC Chairman Hamid Raza, and Rai Hassan Nawaz. Additionally, provincial assembly members Ansar Iqbal, Junaid Afzal Sahi, and Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal were also disqualified.
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The disqualifications came after an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad sentenced several PTI leaders to prison: Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, and Shibli Faraz received 10-year terms in connection with the May 9 riots. PTI MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi was sentenced to three years, while SIC head Sahibzada Hamid Raza also received a 10-year sentence.
Other convicted PTI leaders include Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz, Mrs. Farrukh Agha, Farkhunda Kokab, Kanwal Shauzab, Mohammad Ahmad Chattha, Chaudhry Asif Ali, Shakeel Ahmad Khan Niazi, Sardar Azimullah Khan, Mehr Muhammad Javed, and Muhammad Ansar Iqbal.
Meanwhile, former PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry, Zain Qureshi, and Khayal Kastro were acquitted in these cases.