ISLAMABAD, May 25: MMA Secretary-General Maulana Fazlur Rehman was on Tuesday appointed the leader of opposition in the National Assembly by Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, a move denounced by the other contender, ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

The notification was handed over to MMA's deputy parliamentary leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed in the speaker's chamber. PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was present on the occasion.

The notification makes the maulana a member of the 13-man National Security Council. The speaker announced the appointment by using his discretionary powers. His decision was based on the number of votes the maulana had secured at the time of the prime minister's election in November.

At that time Maulana Fazl had got 87 votes against 172 bagged by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. PPP candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi came third with 70 votes. Mr Fahim, who is also PPP's president, rejected this criteria and said Maulana Fazl's appointment was part of the MMA's deal with the government on the 17th constitutional amendment.

"It (the appointment) was a foregone conclusion for quite some time in the wake of the government's continued contacts with the MMA," Mr Fahim told Dawn. He said that under parliamentary traditions and rules the opposition leader must enjoy the backing of the majority members. The ARD had the required support, he claimed.

Describing the MMA's alleged hobnobbing with the government as the Mullah-Musharraf alliance, he said General Musharraf was protecting his political interests by keeping clerics with him.

On Monday, Chaudhry Shujaat had met Maulana Fazl at his residence here and informed him about the government's decision. The maulana, who had left for Karachi on Tuesday, was informed about his appointment by the MMA's leader by telephone.

While the MMA leadership welcomed the appointment, describing it as a move in the right direction, the ARD vowed to resist what it called an unjust decision against parliamentary traditions.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said the ARD was never a parliamentary party in real terms and recalled that the PML-N, an ARD component, had voted for Maulana Fazl during the election for prime minister. About the MMA's stand on the appointment of the opposition leader in the Senate, he said it could be negotiated if the ARD was "in a mood of give and take".

PPP's parliamentary leader in the Senate Raza Rabbani contested the criteria for Maulana Fazl's appointment. He pointed out that it was on the speaker's desire six months back that the ARD had submitted a list of 79 names duly signed by MNAs while the MMA had only 68 MNAs on its side.