National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday sought proposals for the nomination of the opposition leader in the lower house of Parliament.
At the outset of the session, Sadiq reiterated his stance that he could not initiate the nomination process earlier as the matter was subjudice and the NA Secretariat had been made a party in the case.
He said that after PTI’s Omar Ayub, the previous NA opposition leader, withdrew his petitions in the Supreme Court and high courts against his removal, the nomination process could now be formally initiated.
“This issue had to head towards resolution only then. We would have done so if we had not been made a party [to the case],” Sadiq said.
Addressing the opposition benches, he said the proposals for nominating the opposition leader may be submitted in his chambers by 3pm tomorrow, as per Rule 39(ii) of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business in the NA 2007.
He stated that the nominations should be accompanied by the signatures of opposition members. The count will be made at 3pm on January 14, according to Rule 39(iii) of the NA rules, the speaker announced.
The member having the greatest numerical strength after the signature of the members shall be declared as the opposition leader.
The seat of the opposition leader in the lower house has been vacant since August 7, following the disqualification of PTI’s Ayub by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
While the opposition repeatedly accuses the government of delaying the appointment process, Sadiq had maintained that the matter of the nomination was sub judice.
More to follow
