Pakistan’s Senate appoints Khan-backed lawmaker as opposition leader

Pakistan’s Senate issued a notification appointing Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief and PTI-backed Senator Raja Nasir Abbas as leader of the opposition on Tuesday, as the newly named opposition chief used his first address in the upper house to criticize what he called growing lawlessness and demand the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Speaking during an ongoing Senate session, Abbas thanked the chairman for completing the opposition benches and said he owed his political career to Khan, whom he described as his “loyal leader.”

“I was made a senator by the founder of PTI, and I will never abandon him,” Abbas told the chamber, referring to Khan by his popular title among supporters.

Abbas said he would work for the country’s improvement and pledged to uphold the oath he had taken. He added that he wanted the Senate to become a platform for supporting the poor.

“No individual or system can achieve anything alone,” he said.

Turning to the broader political situation, Abbas said Pakistan was facing a crisis of justice and governance.

“There is lawlessness in the country. Without justice, no society can function,” he said, placing responsibility on the country’s rulers to ensure fair and impartial governance.

He argued that the current political deadlock could only be resolved through the release of Imran Khan, who has been in jail since 2023 in multiple cases.

Abbas also called for the release of other political detainees, naming senior PTI figures including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Sarfraz Cheema.

He questioned why, in his words, “innocent people are being treated as terrorists.”

Abbas accused state institutions of overreach, saying entire areas were sealed off in search of a few suspects.

He also claimed that opposition members had been harassed during political activities, including an incident in Lahore where, he said, their vehicles were attacked.

“Do you think such intimidation can make the system work?” he asked.

In a wide-ranging speech, Abbas said all prophets were sent to establish justice and warned that the balance among state institutions had been eroded.

He called on authorities to allow dissent.

“Let people speak. It strengthens the country,” he said.

Abbas urged a general amnesty for what he described as political prisoners and appealed to the Senate to play its constitutional role.

He also questioned the neutrality of powerful institutions, challenging claims that they had no role in politics.