ISLAMABAD, June 10: The parliamentary leader of the People's Party Parliamentarians in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, on Thursday expressed the apprehension that the government would appoint a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal candidate opposition leader in the house without taking into consideration the numerical strength of the alliance.

Talking to Dawn at the National Press Club, where he had come to attend a programme with PPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, he said indications were that the Senate chairman would follow the "wrong" precedent set by National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.

The speaker has appointed MMA leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman the opposition leader in the National Assembly. Mr Rabbani said the Democratic Alliance in the Senate had the support of 22 members and the MMA had 20 members. He said the government wanted a friendly opposition in both the houses.

He said there were reports that the Senate chairman would appoint the opposition leader in the forthcoming session beginning on Saturday. The PPP senator said the NA speaker had violated the rules by appointing Fazlur Rahman.

He said the rules stated that a member could become opposition leader if he commanded the support of a majority of the opposition members and there was no mention of a parliamentary group or party having larger representation.

When the leader of the house could be elected with the support of various parliamentary groups then why not the opposition leader, he asked. Amin Fahim said the Democratic Alliance had submitted a list of 22 members with their signatures, asking the chairman to nominate Mr Rabbani as the opposition leader.

However, when the government cannot differentiate between 67 and 81 then "how can it see this little difference in the Senate," he said, referring to the nomination of opposition leader in the lower house despite the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy having more members than the MMA.