ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday officially notified Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief and PTI-backed Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas as opposition leader in the Senate.
According to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat, the appointment was made under sub-rule (3) of Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, and took effect immediately.
The development comes less than a week after the opposition leader was appointed in the National Assembly, ending months of delay in filling key opposition positions in parliament. Earlier this month, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai was named the opposition leader in the lower house.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had nominated Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for the Senate opposition leader’s slot in October 2025. PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar confirmed that the Senate chairman had informed him a day earlier that Abbas’s appointment would be notified on Tuesday.
Barrister Zafar had formally written to the Senate chairman seeking the appointment and later shared on social media that he had discussed the matter in a meeting with Gilani, who agreed to the opposition’s demand and assured that the announcement would be made in the House.
The positions of opposition leader in both the Senate and National Assembly had remained vacant since August 2025 following the disqualification of PTI leaders Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub. The Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified both lawmakers after their convictions in cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
With Abbas’s appointment, the opposition has now completed its leadership structure in both houses of parliament.