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ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat on Monday wrote a fourth letter to the opposition’s chief whip, Amir Dogar, seeking a written reply detailing court cases pending against former opposition leader Omar Ayub.
Since Mr Ayub’s disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan, the seat of the opposition leader in the lower house of parliament has been vacant.
Meanwhile, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had maintained that the matter of the nomination of the opposition leader in the house is “sub judice”.
According to a statement issued by the NA Secretariat spokesperson, earlier letters on the same subject were sent on Nov 19, Dec 5, and Dec 19, 2025. “However, no response has so far been received by the National Assembly Secretariat,” it said.
Amir Dogar says he had responded to earlier letters, claims speaker is using delaying tactics
The statement said that the “provision of this information is essential to fulfil the constitutional requirements for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition”.
“The [National Assembly] Secretariat has been made a party in certain sub judice cases involving the former leader of the opposition, making it necessary to obtain the current status of the cases,” the statement said.
“In the letter, the Chief Whip of the Opposition has been requested to provide the requisite information regarding the current status of court cases pending against Omar Ayub, so that the process for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition may be completed.”
The statement by the NA Secretariat elaborated that the process for appointing a new opposition leader can only proceed “upon receipt of the required information”.
When contacted, Mr Dogar said that he was in Multan and had come to know about the speaker‘s fourth letter only through media. However, he said, he had responded to all earlier letters, and claimed that the speaker was merely using delaying tactics to drag on the nomination of opposition leader. He said that he would respond to the fourth letter as well, whenever it was received officially.
In August, the ECP had disqualified the then-opposition leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, following his conviction in cases related to the May 9 riots.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025
