ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has formally started canvassing to acquire the slot of opposition leader in the National Assembly after its chairman Imran Khan gave a go-ahead to his deputy Shah Mehmood Qureshi to gather support of other parties for the purpose.

A PTI delegation headed by Mr Qureshi will hold a meeting with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi on Tuesday to devise a strategy to snatch the important office from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at a time when the next general elections are only a few months away.

Besides this, the move has come at a time when Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has already had a meeting with Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah for consultation on the appointment of a new chairman of the National Acc­ountability Bureau (NAB).

Party delegation to meet MQM leaders in Karachi on 26th

PTI leaders Asad Umar, Imran Ismail and Firdous Naqvi will accompany Mr Qureshi in the meeting with the MQM leaders.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi said he had talked to MQM chief Dr Farooq Sattar by the phone and they had agreed to hold a formal meeting on the issue in Karachi on Sept 26. He said that besides the MQM leadership, he had talked to Tariq Bashir Cheema of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and his meeting with PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was also expected in the next few days.

Mr Qureshi said the issue had come up under discussion at a high-level party meeting presided over by Mr Khan on Friday.

The move to change the opposition leader in the National Assembly had been initiated by the MQM after the party developed differences with the PPP on some issues relating to Sindh, especially Karachi.

There is a provision in the rules and procedures of business of the National Assembly which permits such a change and it has nothing to do with the Constitution. The opposition members, under the rules, are required to simply inform the speaker in writing that they want to change the opposition leader. The speaker, after verifying that the majority of the opposition members have signed the request, will be bound to nominate the new leader of the opposition.

The party position in the assembly shows that Mr Qureshi should not face any difficulty in getting the important office if the 24 members of the MQM decide to support him.

The 32-member PTI is also expected to get the support of the Jamaat-i-Islami, besides the support of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and a few independents like Jamshed Dasti for the position.

On the other hand, the 47-member PPP will only have the support of the two MNAs of the Awami National Party and one MNA of the Balochistan National Party.

Mr Shah can also get the support of the Qaumi Watan Party.

Mr Qureshi said that it was the MQM, not his party, which had initiated the move to change the opposition leader. He said the MQM had fears that the PPP and the PML-N might strike an underhand deal for the appointment of the new NAB chairman and the caretaker set-up before the next elections.

“In fact the MQM, which had supported the PPP to make Khursheed Shah leader of the opposition in the house, is unhappy and wants to get Mr Shah replaced,” he said, adding that it was the responsibility of the PPP to keep the opposition united and intact, but it had failed to do so.

If the plan succeeds, the PTI will have a significant role in the appointment of a new NAB chairman as incumbent bureau chief Qamar Zaman Chaudhry will complete his four-year term on Oct 10. The new chairman is appointed by the prime minister after mandatory consultation with the opposition leader.

Answering a question, Mr Qureshi said that besides the appointment of a new NAB chief, the PTI would also have an important role in the formation of a new caretaker set-up (for conducting the 2018 elections) which was formed in consultation with the opposition leader and would also get the all-important office of the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2017