Senior PTI leaders imprisoned in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail on Saturday demanded that Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas be appointed the Senate opposition leader immediately.

In a letter seen by Dawn, PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and Umar Sarfraz Cheema congratulated veteran politician Mehmood Khan Achakzai on his appointment as the opposition leader in the National Assembly after a months-long delay.

The letter was shared with the media by their counsel, Rana Mudassir.

The PTI leaders hoped Achakzai, under the guidance of party founder Imran Khan, would fulfil his responsibility in restoring democracy and the Constitution, ensuring the rule of law, the supremacy of the judiciary and the protection of the fundamental rights of the people and political workers.

They also hoped that Achakzai would hold consultations on lifting Pakistan out of the quagmire and economic crisis it has been dealing with for the past four years.

They noted that the government had appointed the NA opposition leader after much delay, adding that Nasir should be appointed the opposition leader in the upper house of Parliament “immediately”.

Earlier in the day, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had also commented on the matter while speaking to Geo News in Lahore.

Asked when the Senate opposition leader would be appointed, he said: “That will also happen. The Senate chairman is serving as the acting president right now … Sherry Rehman chaired yesterday’s meeting.

“Once the Senate chairman returns, then this will also happen,” the minister added.

Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Achakzai was finally appointed leader of the opposition in the National Assembly on Friday — a slot that had been lying vacant for almost five months since the disqualification of PTI’s Omar Ayub.

Incarcerated PTI founder Imran had named Achakzai and Abbas for the opposition leader’s slot in the NA and the Senate, respectively, last year in August.

The Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (ECP) had disqualified both the-then NA and Senate opposition leaders, Ayub and Shibli Faraz, respectively, in August following their convictions in cases rela­ted to the May 9, 2023 riots.