ISLAMABAD: PTI Senator Ali Zafar said on Monday that Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani had communicated to him that Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas would be notified as the opposition leader in the upper house of Parliament by tomorrow (Tuesday).

Speaking to Dawn, Zafar said he had submitted a letter to the Senate chairperson, seeking the appointment of Abbas.

According to the PTI senator, Gilani had accepted the opposition’s demand of appointing Abbas to the vacant position and said that an announcement about his appointment would also be made in the House.

In a post on X, Zafar said that he had a meeting with the Senate chairman regarding the appointment of the opposition leader.

“[The] chairman informed me that he has approved the appointment and directed the secretariat to issue a formal notification,” Zafar said.

He welcomed the decision, saying that the party would be able convey its perspective in the Senate more effectively.

The opposition leader’s posts in the Senate and the National Assembly (NA) had fallen vacant in August 2025, following the disqualification of PTI’s Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub, respectively. The two were disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan after their convictions in cases rela­ted to the May 9, 2023 riots.

The PTI had then nominated Abbas as its candidate for the opposition leader’s position in the Senate and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai to fill the NA slot. After a months-long delay, Achakzai was notified as the NA opposition leader last week.

In his letter to Gilani, seen by Dawn, Senator Zafar recalled that the PTI had “duly nominated the honourable Senator Mr Raja Nasir Abbas for the post of the leader of the opposition in the Senate of Pakistan”.

“The continued non-appointment of the leader of the opposition is not only inconsistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, but also runs contrary to well-established democratic traditions and parliamentary conventions,” the letter read.

It added that the “opposition is an indispensable pillar of any democratic system. A House without a formally recognised leader of the opposition remains institutionally incomplete, and its ability to perform its constitutional role of oversight, accountability, and meaningful debate is seriously undermined”.

“Parliamentary democracy rests upon the balance between the treasury and the opposition benches. Denial or delay in recognising the duly nominated leader of the opposition weakens democratic norms, erodes parliamentary decorum, and sets an undesirable precedent inconsistent with constitutional values and democratic practice.

“It is, therefore, once again respectfully requested that, in accordance with Rule 16(3) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, Senator Raja Nasir Abbas may kindly be appointed as leader of the opposition in the Senate of Pakistan at the earliest, in the larger interest of parliamentary democracy and the proper functioning of this august House,” the letter said.

Earlier on Monday, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali also spoke about the matter while talking to the media at the Supreme Court.

Responding to a question regarding the appointment of the opposition leader in the Senate, Gohar said, “We have been told that the notification of the opposition leader in the Senate will also be done in a few days”.

He detailed that the PTI had filed nomination papers before the Senate Secretariat, hoping that the process would be completed today.

“Since the PTI founder has already nominated leaders of the opposition in both the Houses, it will be better if they are appointed soon,” he said.

On Saturday, senior PTI leaders imprisoned in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail had demanded in a letter that Abbas be appointed the Senate opposition leader immediately.

The letter by PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema was shared with the media by their counsel, Rana Mudassir.