Chairman Senate declares Raja Nasir Abbas as leader of Opposition

ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (APP):Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday declared Senator Raja Nasir Abbas as the new Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, following the conclusion of all legal and procedural impediments surrounding the matter.

In his ruling, the Chairman Senate said that Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, mandates that the Chairman Senate shall declare as Leader of the Opposition the Member who commands the support of the majority of the Members in opposition.

“Following the disqualification of former Senator Syed Shibli Faraz by the Election Commission of Pakistan vide Notification dated 5th August, 2025, and the consequential Notification of the Senate Secretariat dated 8th August, 2025, the office of the Leader of the Opposition stood vacated. The said Notifications were challenged before the Hon’ble Peshawar High Court, which issued restraining orders prohibiting further action in the matter,” the ruling said.

The Chairman said that in view of the pendency of judicial proceedings, the matter remained under consideration of the Senate Secretariat for legal examination and procedural guidance, in accordance with established parliamentary practice and constitutional discipline, so as to ensure that no step was taken which might conflict with, or render infructuous, the proceedings before the Hon’ble Court.

“ I am now informed that no restraint order or legal impediment subsists in the matter. The earlier deferment was, therefore, purely procedural, occasioned by institutional prudence, due deference to judicial authority, and strict adherence to the rule of law. There being no legal bar, I now proceed in accordance with Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012 and hereby declare Senator Raja Nasir Abbas as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, having secured the support of twenty-two (22) Members out of thirty-two (32) Members on the opposition benches,” the ruling further said.

The Secretariat is directed to issue the formal Notification accordingly, the ruling further said.