Newly appointed opposition leader in the Senate Raja Nasir Abbas Photo: Screengrab YouTube/Senate in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD:
Within days of the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, the process was also completed in the Senate on Tuesday, where Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was officially notified for the post.
With leaders of the opposition now sitting in both the National Assembly and the Senate after a gap of five months, political analysts see the development as a “potential ice breaker” between the treasury and the opposition benches.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led opposition aims to use parliament to press its demands, while the ruling coalition hopes the appointments will move the opposition away from a strategy of agitation and disruption.
Abbas, a PTI-backed senator and vice-chairman of Tehreek Tahafuz Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP), had been nominated for the post by jailed PTI founder Imran Khan in August. Abbas secured 22 votes out of the 32 opposition members in the upper house.
“Pursuant to sub-rule (3) of rule 16 of the Rules and Procedures of the Senate, 2012, the President of the Senate has been pleased to declare Senator Raja Nasir Abbas as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, with immediate effect,” read a statement issued by the Senate Secretariat.
The post of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate had been vacant since August 2025, when the then incumbent, PTI’s Shibli Faraz, was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following his conviction in cases related to the 9 May 2023 violence.
Faraz had challenged the ECP notification in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which initially granted a stay order, stopping further action regarding his disqualification and the appointment of a new opposition leader.
Explaining the delay, Senate President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani told the House that the appointment had stalled due to procedural reasons, institutional prudence and respect for judicial authority and the rule of law.
During the session, Senator Nasir Butt of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised questions about Abbas’s party affiliation, noting that he was not a member of the PTI. “About the party [PTI] lacked a qualified candidate from its own ranks,” he asked.
Despite the objection, the Speaker went ahead with the statement and directed the Senate Secretariat to issue the notification immediately. PTI Parliamentary Leader Ali Zafar welcomed the decision and thanked the Treasury for their support, describing it as a positive parliamentary gesture.
“This is how parliamentary behavior should be. We must at least preserve and uphold the parliamentary authority and powers,” he said. From the Treasury, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah also welcomed the appointment.
In his maiden speech as Leader of the Opposition, Raja Nasir Abbas credited Imran Khan for his presence in the House, describing himself as a “loyal companion” of Khan who would never compromise on principles or his oath. He claimed that Khan enjoyed 90% public support.
“The country cannot progress if you keep a popular leader in jail,” Abbas said, stressing that the resolution of Khan’s cases and his release was the only solution to the political crisis. He also called on the opposition to access what he called “political prisoners” to restore stability.
Abbas described the constitution as a sacred social contract and said it bound the pillars of the state to non-interference. Without compliance with the law, he warned, society risked descending into a “jungle” of lawlessness and erosion of public trust.
He said national strength stemmed from justice and unity, and traced political instability to alleged fraud in the February 8, 2024 elections, suppression of peaceful protests, violence against TTAP members in Punjab and displacement in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah region.
Questioning whether terrorism could be eradicated without justice and local support, Abbas said economic and security challenges could not be resolved without ending the political deadlock and called on parliament to “exercise collective wisdom”.
He also urged Pakistan to counter threats by US President Donald Trump against Iran, suggesting a session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and a regional dialogue to prevent any escalation.
Speaking after Abbas, Rana Sanaullah said the allegations surrounding the February 8 election were not unprecedented, recalling similar allegations after previous polls, including the 2018 general election. Remaining mired in past grievances, he said, would hinder national progress.
Sanaullah agreed that Pakistan’s electoral system completely lacked credibility and required reform. “If we accept that free and fair elections remain a challenge, the solution lies in sitting together to improve electoral laws, procedures and the role of institutions like the ECP,” he said.
Referring to the “charter of democracy”, he called on all political parties to work towards a “charter of stability”, stressing that political, electoral and institutional challenges could only be resolved through dialogue and consensus in parliament.
He added that with opposition leaders now appointed in both the National Assembly and the Senate, there was an opportunity to steer politics towards stability through parliamentary debate on judicial independence, political cases, electoral reforms and democratic norms.
The appointments came after more than five months of delay as the posts had been vacant since August 2025, when Shibli Faraz and his National Assembly counterpart Omar Ayub were convicted and disqualified.
