Mehmood Achakzai named opposition leader in National Assembly
74 lawmakers back veteran politician; nomination filed with NA Secretariat: Three PTI-backed MNAs absent from signing due to overseas travel
Senior politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai has been formally nominated as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the nomination request was officially submitted to the office of the Secretary of the National Assembly, Muhammad Mushtaq.
The nomination, backed by 74 opposition members, was submitted by Chief Whip Amir Dogar, former Speaker Asad Qaiser, and other senior leaders.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed opposition bloc put forward Achakzai’s name as a consensus candidate.
According to parliamentary sources, three PTI lawmakers, Ali Afzal Sahi, Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, and Umar Farooq, did not sign the nomination document, as they are currently out of the country.
However, their absence did not impact the minimum required support for the nomination.
Special Secretary of the National Assembly, Muhammad Mushtaq, officially received the application for Achakzai’s appointment.
The request has been registered and assigned a diary number by the Advisor’s Office.
Mahmud Khan Achakzai, born 14 December 1948, is a Pakistani Pashtun regionalist politician who is the Chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP).
He has been serving as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 29 February 2024. He received a BSc degree in civil engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, in 1971.
Achakzai is a Pashtun nationalist who was elected as the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP) following the assassination of his father, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, in a bomb attack in Quetta in 1973.
PNAP and the Pakhtunkhwa Mazdoor Kisan Party (PMKP) of Sher Ali Bacha reached an agreement in 1986.
As a result of this settlement, the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) was created in March 1989 at a meeting in Quetta. Bacha was elected as the General Secretary of PMAP while Mahmood Khan Achakzai was the chairman.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif