ISLAMABAD:
In a move that might have come as a rude shock to many PTI leaders, Imran Khan, the jailed founder of the embattled party, has nominated the maverick chief of PkMAP, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, for opposition leader in the National Assembly.
Achakzai’s nomination has provided grist to the rumour mill, churning out reports that Imran is increasingly unhappy with the PTI leaders over their failure to mount a formidable challenge against the coalition government which he accuses of stealing his party’s mandate.
The development comes days after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz earlier this month following their convictions in the May 9 cases.
Both were formally de-notified as opposition leaders respectively in the National Assembly and the Senate on August 8, along with several other opposition members in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja told reporters outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday that Imran had also nominated Senator Azam Swati as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He added that the PTI founder had sought five names from the party for nomination to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly.
Raja further said that Imran had tasked the party’s political committee with finalising its strategy for the upcoming by-elections on seats that fell vacant after the disqualification of lawmakers in the May 9 cases. The committee was scheduled to meet later in the day to make decisions, he added.
He confirmed that Achakzai, who currently heads the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), would replace Omar Ayub in the National Assembly.
In a separate address in Lahore, Raja urged political forces to unite against what he termed oppression and arbitrary arrests. “It does not matter where you come from or which party you belong to – if you have empathy, we are together,” he said. “For the permanence of humanity and dignity, this struggle has to be fought.”
He warned that “anyone can be detained for any reason” under the prevailing circumstances, adding that “the only law in this country is fear.”
Raja assured party supporters that the PTI leadership would take their struggle to “every available forum.” He said the wider movement was not just about the party’s politics but about protecting fundamental rights.
“What does the supremacy of law and the Constitution mean? It means having the right to protest under Article 17. Article 15 allows free movement. Article 19 gives us the right to raise and spread our voice together,” he noted.
He also spoke about the plight of farmers and the poor across the country, saying: “I listened to people in Sindh, it brought tears to my eyes. But this suffering is not limited to Sindh – it is everywhere.”
Calling for a united front, the PTI leader said, “We all have rights and we are all human. If we fail to act, those rights will erode further.”
Referring to the devastation caused by floods, Raja said they were not purely natural disasters but were aggravated by “human greed and mismanagement.” “We need to eradicate this greed in the same way our forests are being cut down. If we do not stand up now, we may lose the ability to raise our voice altogether,” he warned.
