Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed Syed Shibli Faraz as leader of the house in Senate, it emerged on Saturday.

A letter sent to the Senate Secretariat, dated August 24, by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs stated that the premier had appointed Faraz to represent the government in the upper house of the parliament.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Faraz was elected to the Senate in March 2015 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and serves as the chairman of the committees on circular debt and commerce and textile. He is the son of acclaimed (late) poet Ahmed Faraz.

As per Rule 2(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, "the leader of the House shall be the prime minister or a member appointed by him to represent [the] government and to regulate government business in the Senate when the prime minister is not sitting in the House," the letter stated.

Meanwhile, opposition parties led by the PML-N have already written to the Senate chairman to have Raja Zafarul Haq replace PPP's Sherry Rehman as leader of the opposition in Senate. There has been no decision on that request so far.