The Senate Secretariat has come under scrutiny after appointing disqualified Senator Shibli Faraz to a five-member inquiry committee just two days after his removal from office.

According to official notifications, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Faraz on August 5 following his conviction by the Anti-Terrorism Court, Faisalabad, in the May 9 riots case. The Senate Secretariat subsequently declared the position of leader of the opposition vacant under Article 63 of the Constitution.

However, on August 7, the secretariat issued another notification forming an inquiry committee to investigate a visa case against the Senate’s Joint Secretary, naming Faraz as one of its members. The committee is headed by Senator Saleem Mandviwala and includes Anusha Rehman, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, and Senate Deputy Secretary Muhammad Azam.

The move has sparked questions about procedural oversight, as Faraz’s inclusion came despite his formal disqualification and loss of Senate membership.

Race for new opposition leader

Following Faraz’s exit, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership has begun consultations to nominate a new leader of the opposition in the Upper House.

Sources say Barrister Ali Zafar, currently serving as PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, is the strongest contender. Other names in the running include Azam Swati, Mirza Afridi, and Aun Abbas Bappi.

On the other hand, the National Assembly Secretariat declared the post of opposition leader vacant after removing Omar Ayub from the position. According to the official notification issued by the NA Secretariat, three major positions held by PTI have been vacated.

Besides Omar Ayub losing the role of opposition leader, Zartaj Gul has been removed as parliamentary leader, and Ahmed Chattha no longer holds the deputy parliamentary leader post.

Also Read: NA ousts PTI's Omar Ayub as opposition leader

The chamber allocated to the opposition leader in the National Assembly has also been withdrawn from PTI.

Standing committee shake-up hits PTI hard

The impact of this reshuffle extends further into PTI’s representation in the National Assembly’s standing committees. Membership of 15 committees has been revoked from seven PTI members who were deemed ineligible.

Notable changes include:

Omar Ayub delisted from the Public Accounts Committee and Finance Committee.
Sahibzada Hamid Raza removed as Chairman of the Human Rights Committee.
Zartaj Gul lost her seat in the Human Rights Standing Committee.
Rai Hassan Nawaz was stripped of the Railways Committee Chairmanship.

Who will be the next opposition leader?

With Omar Ayub out, discussions are underway to finalize a new opposition leader. Sources told Samaa TV that three names were under consideration: Mehmood Achakzai, Asad Qaiser, and Aamir Dogar.

However, Asad Qaiser has declined the offer, according to insiders. This development positions PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar as the strongest candidate to assume the role.