Achakzai becomes opposition leader in NA

ISLAMABAD: After months of political wrangling, foot-dragging and finger-pointing, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed (PTI) Mehmood Khan Achakzai, was finally appointed on Friday as the opposition leader in National Assembly.

The long-awaited move follows months of delays, stemming from the disqualification of former opposition leader Omar Ayub in a case pertaining to May 9 riots, last year in August.

Achakzai, who heads the PTI-backed Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), was nominated by the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan for the role last year in August, following Ayub’s disqualification.

But a series of bureaucratic hurdles, legal challenges, and political manoeuvring had kept the position vacant for nearly five months. After months of delay, the official notification, now issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, confirmed Achakzai’s appointment, effective January 16, 2026.

The notification, citing Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure, left little room for ambiguity – though the months of delay had already raised plenty of questions about what exactly had been going on behind the scenes.

Before the announcement was made, Speaker Sadiq summoned PTI acting chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and the party’s chief whip in the NA Aamir Dogar to his chamber for what was described as the “delivery of the notification.”

With all the drama and suspense of a political thriller, the trio rushed to the Speaker’s office, while the deputy speaker took charge of the House proceedings.

Once the meeting concluded, Gohar emerged and announced the long-delayed decision, lamenting that the notification was supposed to be issued the day before but had been delayed “due to some issues.”

“It was our right, and it has been a long wait, but we have finally got it,” he added, clearly frustrated by the drawn-out process.

The opposition, of course, wasted no time in pointing fingers. The PTI had repeatedly accused the government of deliberately stalling the appointment to create political chaos.

The NA Speaker, for his part, had insisted that the matter was “sub judice,” citing Ayub’s legal battle against his disqualification.

But that didn’t stop the opposition from charging that the delay was a calculated attempt to weaken their position in the House.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026