With PTI leaders sidelined by court rulings, Imran Khan has turned to Mahmood Khan Achakzai to head the opposition
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has nominated veteran Pashtun nationalist Mahmood Khan Achakzai as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, the latest move in a political reshuffle forced by a wave of disqualifications.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja outside the Supreme Court.
“Imran Khan has nominated Mahmood Khan Achakzai to take Omar Ayub’s place,” Raja told reporters, adding that Azam Khan Swati had been chosen as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Khan has also asked for five names to be considered for the opposition slot in the Punjab Assembly.
The decision follows the Election Commission of Pakistan’s move earlier this month to disqualify Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI stalwart who held the position in the National Assembly, and Shibli Faraz, his counterpart in the Senate. Both were removed from their posts on August 8 after convictions linked to the violent unrest of May 9, 2023.
The disqualifications triggered a vacuum at the top of the opposition benches, one that Imran Khan — still directing his party from prison — has now filled with Achakzai’s nomination. Yet the leadership question remains unsettled: the Peshawar High Court last week issued a stay on the appointment of new opposition leaders while hearing petitions filed by Ayub and Faraz.
Who is Mahmood Khan Achakzai?
Achakzai, 76, is the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) and a veteran of Pakistan’s democratic struggles. The son of the slain Pashtun nationalist Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, he has long been a voice for provincial autonomy, parliamentary supremacy and civilian control over politics.
Elected to the National Assembly multiple times since the 1990s, Achakzai returned to parliament in February this year from Quetta’s NA-266 constituency. He also contested the 2024 presidential election, emerging as a prominent face of the opposition alliance.
Known for his independent positions, Achakzai has played leading roles in movements ranging from the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy in the 1980s to more recent anti-government campaigns.
What is the TTAP alliance?
The nomination also reflects the PTI’s reliance on its broader coalition, the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), formed last year with five other opposition parties. TTAP formalized its structure in July, with Achakzai as chairman and PTI’s Asad Qaiser as secretary-general.
The alliance convened a multi-party conference in July calling for a “new social contract” to restore the Constitution and democracy, and has pledged blanket support for protests against the government. Achakzai’s elevation underscores TTAP’s importance in filling the opposition void left by PTI’s weakened parliamentary ranks.
Imran Khan’s choice of Achakzai is significant on several fronts. It gives the opposition benches a seasoned politician with cross-provincial credibility, especially from Balochistan and Pashtun constituencies often underrepresented in national leadership. It also signals PTI’s attempt to broaden its alliances at a time when many of its own lawmakers face legal challenges and by-elections loom.
“The PTI founder has entrusted the matter of by-elections to the party’s political committee,” Raja said, hinting at further coordination between PTI and its TTAP partners in the days ahead.
What comes next?
The courts remain a critical variable. The Peshawar High Court’s stay order means that Achakzai’s formal appointment could be delayed pending rulings on Ayub and Faraz’s petitions. If the disqualifications are overturned, PTI could face renewed questions over its shifting leadership choices.
For now, however, Achakzai’s nomination cements his place at the center of opposition politics, elevating a veteran campaigner into the spotlight at a moment of institutional flux. His rise from coalition chairman to potential parliamentary opposition leader could reshape the tone and tactics of Pakistan’s anti-government bloc ahead of the next round of political confrontation.