Islamabad – August 8, 2025:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has suffered a significant parliamentary blow as three of its key positions in the National Assembly were officially declared vacant, with a notification issued on Thursday confirming the development.
According to parliamentary sources, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, has withdrawn the posts of Leader of the Opposition, Parliamentary Leader, and Deputy Parliamentary Leader from the PTI. This move follows the recent disqualification of senior PTI leader Omar Ayub, who had been holding the position of Opposition Leader.
Addressing the house, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq stated that new nominations would soon be invited for the post of Opposition Leader. In addition to losing his leadership role, Omar Ayub was also removed from key parliamentary committees, including the Public Accounts Committee and the Finance Committee.
The setback for PTI did not stop there. The memberships of seven PTI-affiliated lawmakers, deemed ineligible, have also been revoked from various standing committees. The list includes Jamshed Dasti, Ahmad Chatha, Abdul Latif, Omar Ayub, Haider Ali, Hamid Raza, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Zartaj Gul.
In total, 15 committee memberships held by these lawmakers have been nullified. Sahibzada Hamid Raza has been removed as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Human Rights, while Zartaj Gul lost her position in the same committee. Rai Hassan Nawaz has also been stripped of his chairmanship of the Railways Standing Committee.
Insiders say that PTI’s independent members will now need to submit fresh nominations for the posts of Parliamentary Leader and Deputy Parliamentary Leader. A formal order from the Speaker is expected in the coming days to initiate this process.
This latest development underscores the widening gulf between PTI and the parliamentary leadership, further weakening the party’s influence in the National Assembly at a crucial political juncture.
