ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy has asked the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman to immediately appoint opposition leaders in the respective houses of parliament.

Talking to Dawn here on Tuesday, ARD parliamentary secretary Izhar Amrohvi said it seemed that the government wanted friendly ties with the leader of opposition as he would also be a member of the proposed National Security Council.

Mr Amrohvi warned the government against appointing Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal as the opposition leader in the National Assembly. He said it would also be an insult to the parliament if persons representing a minority in the opposition were called upon to play the role of a loyal and friendly opposition.

He said the government was reluctant in appointing the opposition leader as it was afraid of the ARD. Meanwhile, PPP Senator Farhatullah Khan Babar, in a statement, said it was mandatory under the rules on the speaker and the Senate chairman to nominate the members of the ARD and its allies in the lower and upper houses as leaders of the opposition.

Mr Babar said it was incorrect to suggest that the rules or traditions provided that a person commanding the majority of a parliamentary group registered with the Election Commission or having contested the elections with a common symbol commanded the majority of the members in the opposition.

He said under Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992 and the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate 1988, the term "opposition leader" had been defined as: "means a member who, in the opinion of the speaker, is for the time being leader of the majority of the members in the opposition."

The PPP senator said the above rule clearly made no mention of a political party or alliance. He said the ARD's candidate for the office of the opposition leader in the National Assembly had the support of 81 members and in the Senate, the alliance had the support of 22 members, which constituted the majority of the opposition members in both the houses.

Mr Babar said the argument of a single alliance fell to the ground even on the basis of past tradition. He said it also negated the principle of formation of government through a coalition. The PML-Q, he said, on the basis of this argument did not command the majority of a single party and hence Mr Jamali could not continue to be the prime minister.

The argument, Mr Babar said, was further negated by the fact that in the NWFP Assembly, the MMA's speaker had nominated an independent member as the opposition leader, who was supported by the majority of the members of the opposition parties.