National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai has refused to resign from his position.
According to the details, Achakzai will not step down in response to an alleged demand by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s high-level committee during a meeting that began late on Saturday evening and continued until midnight.
Speaking to close associates in his group late on Sunday night after a meeting of the Movement for the Restoration of the Constitution, he said: “If the person in Adiala Jail who nominated me as opposition leader asks me to step down, I will resign.”
Achakzai is the sole parliamentarian from his Quetta-based party, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. The National Assembly speaker appointed him opposition leader in January this year.
He was nominated for the position by the PTI founder, who is imprisoned following convictions in criminal cases. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, is not represented in the National Assembly.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq appointed Achakzai after a prolonged dispute over his credentials and eligibility.
Achakzai did not participate in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s “long march” last week. The march culminated in the dismissal of the provincial government, bringing PTI’s 13-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to an end.
Sources said PTI-affiliated independent members of the National Assembly were deeply divided over holding the long march and its destination.
