ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has divided into two groups over the possibility of selecting Shah Mahmood Qureshi as the candidate for the position of leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami, Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) say they will oppose any move to replace the opposition leader in the Lower House of parliament.
According to reports, many PTI leaders have expressed serious reservations over Qureshi’s name for the position.
Sources said it was decided at a meeting of the PTI parliamentary party on Sept 20, that Imran Khan would be nominated as the opposition leader. However, a meeting between a PTI delegation led by Qureshi with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr Farooq Sattar in Karachi on Tuesday indicated otherwise.
The PTI’s decision to join hands with the MQM-P has not gone down well with some of the key leaders of the former in Karachi. They say that PTI activists and supporters in Karachi are disappointed over the move.
Qureshi’s tilt towards the MQM-P has compelled the party leaders in the city to oppose his nomination, media reports suggest.
Similarly, the party’s lawmakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa too want to see Imran Khan heading the opposition in the assembly instead of Qureshi.
According to reports, PTI Secretary General Jehangir Tareen is supporting the group that is opposing Qureshi’s nomination.
After their meeting in Karachi, the PTI and MQM-P leaders had hinted at their alliance in the next general election as well as bringing a new leader of opposition in the National Assembly.
On the other hand, the PML-N, ANP, JI and JUI-F have expressed their opposition to PTI’s move to replace Khursheed Shah as leader of the opposition.
In a statement, PML-N leader and ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif said they were not in favour of replacing Shah in the Lower House.
The ANP and JI have also decided not to support the PTI’s move against Shah.
In a related development, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said the PTI and MQM did not have enough numbers in the National Assembly to replace Khursheed Shah as leader of the opposition.