Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, chief of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), is expected to be formally notified as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate by Tuesday, ending a months-long delay. The position has remained vacant since August 2025.

PTI Senator Ali Zafar confirmed that Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved Abbas’s appointment and directed the Senate Secretariat to issue the official notification. Calling the move “welcoming,” Zafar said Abbas’s leadership would enable the opposition to present its stance more effectively in the upper house.

The post fell vacant following the disqualification of PTI Senator Shibli Faraz by the Election Commission after his conviction in a case related to the May 9, 2023 riots. PTI had subsequently nominated Raja Nasir Abbas for the Senate position, while Mehmood Khan Achakzai was nominated and recently notified as the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.

In a letter to the Senate chairman, Ali Zafar stressed that keeping the position vacant weakens parliamentary oversight and democratic functioning. PTI Chairman Gohar Ali echoed these concerns, emphasizing the need for timely notifications.

Senior PTI leaders currently imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat jail also urged immediate action, stating that a legislature without a formal opposition leader remains incomplete.