PTI wants NA opposition leader's slot back ahead of new NAB chief's appointment

Pakistan

Malik Aamir Dogar says leader of the opposition should now from PTI

21 February,2023 03:52 pm

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday asked National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf to change the leader of the opposition before the appointment of new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

PTI Chief Whip Malik Aamir Dogar has sent a letter to the speaker after Aftab Sultan stepped down as NAB Chairman, claiming that he was being pressurised to do certain unacceptable things. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also accepted his resignation.

As the government has launched search to find a new person for the top slot, the PTI feared that its dissident leader Raja Riaz, who is currently serving as leader of the opposition in the lower house of the parliament, could support the government in appointing its favourite person as NAB chairman.

The fears made it to approach the speaker for changing the opposition leader before the key appointment.

“As you may be aware, the Hon'ble Lahore High Court has decided on Feb 20 suspending your decision to de-notify MNAs belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-lnsaf. As a result of this decision, the largest Opposition Party in the National Assembly is now PTI, and the Leader of the Opposition should now be from PTI,” reads the letter.

Mr Dogar said he had written the letter to the speaker in line with the directives of the PTI chairman to ask him to “initiate process for the change of Leader of the Opposition with immediate effect”.

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The PTI leader also reminded him that “according to the NAB Law, the appointment of Chairman NAB has to be carried out after consultation between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition”.

He said the replacement of Mr Sultan should only be finalized after consultation with the new opposition leader nominated by PTI.

PTI