• Party leaders say legal options to restore Ayub, Shibli to be exhausted first
• Omar says PkMAP chief’s nomination to boost opposition alliance

ISLAMABAD: Amid controversy surrounding the nomination of Mahmood Khan Achakzai — the head of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party — and Senator Azam Swati as opposition leaders, PTI insiders have said these appointments will only proceed if former leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz remain barred from parliament.

The party plans to avail all legal options to reverse the disqualification of National Assembly Oppo­s­ition Leader Omar Ayub and Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz, who were disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakis­tan in light of the May 9 sentences.

Against this backdrop, the PTI chief earlier this week named Mr Achakzai, who also heads the PTI-led opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, and Senator Swati for these coveted roles. The decision, however, upset many in the party, and a debate ensued over why an outsider was picked to lead the PTI-dominated opposition.

In an apparent move to placate these concerns, insiders in the party told Dawn that the priority was the return of former opposition leaders Omar Ayub and Mr Faraz.

According to PTI’s political com­m­ittee, new nominations will not be made until the appeals of Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz are decided. Party Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that the party would stand by the two leaders, hoping that the court would give a favourable ruling in their cases.

Meanwhile, Omar Ayub told Dawn that the new appointment would be finalised only after exhausting all legal means.

“However, it should be kept in mind that Mr Achakzai is a senior leader and also the head of the opposition alliance,” he said, adding, “It is the prerogative of the party founder [Imran Khan] to nominate any person as a candidate for the opposition leader.” Mr Ayub said the decision to nominate the PkMAP chief would strengthen the opposition alliance.

Ex-opposition leader Omar Ayub said that Salman Akram Raja had already made it clear that all the legal platforms would be used to reverse their disqualification but if the government demanded the names for new opposition leaders, in that case, these names would be forwarded to the speaker.

A senior PTI leader, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that although both names were announced, but during the parliamentary party meeting, participants demanded the details of the meeting with Imran Khan.

“Ali Bukhari informed (the meeting) that Imran Khan had said that all legal platforms should be exhausted and after that names of Mr Achakzai and Azam Swati can be given. Khan sahib suggested these names as he feared he might not get an opportunity to meet the party leaders, his sisters, or lawyers till the nomination of the opposition leaders,” he explained.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said both Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz had gotten stay orders from courts. “Mr Achakzai was supported by the PTI as a presidential candidate. Imran Khan wants all opposition voices to unite. In the past, we approached Maulana Fazlur Rehman under the same idea and visited his house many times,” he said.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser said that the first priority was to bring both Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz back to the NA and Senate.

“However, as a second option, Mr Achakzai has been nominated,” he said, adding the PkMAP chief was named for this role because Mr Khan supported political figures from Balochistan. Mr Achakzai is also a seasoned politician who can lead the movement, he said. “However, I would again say that the priority would be to bring Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz back as leaders of the opposition in both houses,” he reiterated.

It may be noted that Mr Achakzai is a veteran political figure from Balochistan, particularly known for his outspoken stance against the establishment. Swati, a PTI veteran who joined the party before the 2013 elections, was jailed a few years ago and allegedly tortured for his tweet against then army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2025