ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday formally requested the appointment of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, submitting his nomination to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed that Achakzai’s nomination papers had been submitted to the speaker. This marks the second time the party has formally proposed Achakzai’s name for the post, which has remained vacant for nearly five months following the disqualification of PTI’s Omar Ayub in August 2025.
The development comes a day after the NA speaker restarted the process for appointing the opposition leader, after previously stating that the matter was pending due to legal proceedings related to Ayub’s disqualification.
The written proposal, dated January 12 and seen by Dawn, was addressed to the NA speaker and stated that members of the opposition benches were nominating Mehmood Khan Achakzai, MNA from NA-266, for the constitutional office. The document cited Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, which provides that the leader of the opposition is to be appointed from among opposition members who command the confidence of the majority on the opposition benches.
The proposal asserted that Achakzai enjoys the confidence and support of a majority of opposition members and is therefore the most suitable candidate for the position. It further stated that the timely appointment of an opposition leader was essential to ensure the effective discharge of constitutional and parliamentary responsibilities entrusted to the opposition.
The opposition formally requested the speaker to complete the necessary procedures in line with parliamentary rules and past practices and appoint Achakzai as leader of the opposition at the earliest.
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Separately, Barrister Gohar told reporters that PTI had submitted only one nomination for the post and expressed hope that Achakzai would be notified as the opposition leader by Thursday.
Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan had first nominated Achakzai for the position in August last year, shortly after Omar Ayub’s disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan following his conviction in cases linked to the May 9, 2023 riots. The opposition alliance had also submitted Achakzai’s nomination papers in October 2025, though those were filed with the speaker’s office rather than directly to the speaker.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed the submission of Achakzai’s nomination papers to NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.https://t.co/ru1mqJ2ERm
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) January 13, 2026
The opposition has accused the government of deliberately delaying the appointment, while the speaker had previously maintained that the issue was sub judice due to Ayub’s legal challenges. Ayub later withdrew his petitions from the Supreme Court and high courts.
Following this, the NA Secretariat sought clarification from PTI regarding the status of Ayub’s cases. After the required documents were submitted earlier this month, the speaker formally initiated the process anew during Monday’s National Assembly session by inviting nominations for the post.
