–PM Imran nominates Shibli Faraz for Leader of House, PML-N forwards name of Raja Zafarul Haq for Leader of Opp
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday nominated Shibli Faraz as his party’s nominee for Leader of the House in Senate, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has named Raja Zafarul Haq for Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House of Parliament.
The Senate Secretariat has received Prime Minister Imran’s letter regarding Faraz’s nomination.
Faraz has been a member of Senate since 2015. His uncle, Barrister Syed Masood Kausar, has served as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor while his father Ahmad Faraz was an acclaimed poet.
PML-N’s Raja Zafarul Haq has previously served as Leader of House in Senate. Earlier this month, PML-N nominated Haq as its opposition leader in Senate.
The PML-N made the move to oust Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan People’s Party from the post of opposition leader after the PPP refused to support Shehbaz Sharif in the election for prime minister.
The joint opposition had earlier agreed that the PML-N would name a candidate for the office of the prime minister, the PPP would nominate a candidate for the position of NA Speaker and the Muttahida Majli-i-Amal would field its candidate for the slot of NA deputy speaker.
The PPP, however, objected to the candidature of Shehbaz Sharif, citing the reason that he had allegedly used derogatory language against the PPP leadership in the recent past. The PPP requested the PML-N to change its candidate so that the former could vote for their nominee. When it was not done, the PPP abstained from voting for the prime minister’s election.
Meanwhile, the office of the leader of the house was vacant after the formation of the new government.
