Leader of the Opposition (Pakistan)

The Leader of the Opposition (Urdu: قائد حزب اختلاف) is the people's elected politician who is, by law, the leader of the Official Opposition in Pakistan. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest political party in the National Assembly.

Leader of the Opposition of Pakistan
Incumbent Omar Ayub since 2 April 2024
Style	The Honorable (formal) Leader of the Opposition (spoken)
Member of	National Assembly of Pakistan
Reports to	Parliament of Pakistan
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Pakistan
Formation	7 July 1955, 63 years ago
First holder	Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy

The leader of the opposition is normally viewed as an alternative Prime Minister. There is also a Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who is elected / nominated separately by the opposition members of the Senate of Pakistan.

Powers of Leader of Opposition

Leader of Opposition has constitutional authority to consult with elected prime minister for appointment of care-taker prime minister.Care-taker prime minister is appointed by President after consultation with Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition.

He has constitutional authority to consult with prime minister for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and members of Election Commission of Pakistan.President appoints chief election commissioner and members after consultaton with Leader of Opposition and Prime Minister.

Chairman of National Accountablity Bureau is appointed after consultation between Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition.

He recommends names of 2 members of National Assembly as members of Judicial Commission of Pakistan from opposition benches for appointment of Judges of Supreme Court, High Courts and Federal Shariat Court.

List

A list of the leaders of the Opposition before and according to the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.^[1]

  Independent

  Pakistan Muslim League (N)

  Pakistan Peoples Party

  National Awami Party

  Awami National Party

  Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

  Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

  Pakistan National Alliance

  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

	Leaders of the Opposition	Portrait	Starting term	Ending term	Political affiliation	Political ideology
1	Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy		7 July 1955	11 September 1956	All-Pakistan Awami League	Islamic socialism
2	I. I. Chundrigar		16 December 1957	1 October 1958	Muslim League	Pakistani nationalism
A	Fatima Jinnah		1 January 1960	9 July 1967	Independent	Pakistani nationalism
3	Sardar Bahadur Khan		8 June 1962	21 August 1964	Pakistan Muslim League	Pakistani nationalism
4	Nurul Amin		12 June 1965	25 March 1969	Pakistan Muslim League	Pakistani nationalism
5	Khan Abdul Wali Khan		14 April 1972	17 August 1975	National Awami Party	Democratic socialism
6	Mufti Mehmood[1]		17 August 1975	5 July 1977	Pakistan National Alliance	Islamism
7	Fakhar Imam		24 March 1985	29 May 1988	Pakistan Muslim League	National conservatism
(5)	Khan Abdul Wali Khan		2 December 1988	6 August 1990	Awami National Party	Democratic socialism
8	Benazir Bhutto		6 November 1990	18 July 1993	Pakistan Peoples Party	Democratic socialism
9	Nawaz Sharif		19 October 1993	5 November 1996	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Pakistani conservatism
(8)	Benazir Bhutto		17 February 1997	12 October 1999	Pakistan Peoples Party	Democratic socialism
10	Fazal-ur-Rehman[2]		25 March 2004	15 November 2007	Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal	Religious conservatism
11	Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi[3]		10 April 2008	16 September 2008	Pakistan Muslim League (Q)	Conservatism
12	Nisar Ali Khan[4]		17 September 2008	7 June 2013	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Pakistani conservatism
13	Khurshid Shah[5]		7 June 2013	31 May 2018	Pakistan Peoples Party	Democratic socialism
14	Shehbaz Sharif[6]		20 August 2018	10 April 2022	Pakistan Muslim League (N)	Pakistani conservatism
15	Raja Riaz[7]		20 May 2022	10 August 2023	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf	Welfarism
16	Omar Ayub[8]		2 April 2024	Incumbent	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf	Anti-corruption

See also

• National Assembly of Pakistan
• Government of Pakistan
• Politics of Pakistan
• Pakistan

References

1. "Leaders of Opposition". www.na.gov.pk. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
2. "Fazl named leader of opposition: ARD rejects decision". DAWN. 26 May 2004.
3. "Parvaiz Elahi resigns as opposition leader". DAWN. 14 September 2008.
4. "Nisar is now Leader of Opposition in NA". DAWN. 18 September 2008.
5. "PPP's Khursheed Shah declared leader of opposition in NA". DAWN. 7 June 2013.
6. "Shehbaz Sharif notified as Opposition Leader in NA". The News International. 20 August 2018.
7. "Raja Riaz appointed opposition leader in NA". The Express Tribune. 20 May 2022.
8. Sadozai, Irfan; Guramani, Nadir (2 April 2024). "PTI's Omar Ayub made opposition leader in National Assembly". DAWN.