Former Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani new Leader of Opposition in Senate

Pakistan’s former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was on Friday appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, a move which may widen the rift between the major opposition parties.

Gilani had formally asked Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to appoint him as the opposition leader as he was supported by at least 30 members of the Senate from the opposition parties.

A notification issued by the Senate Secretariat showed that he was appointed as the Leader of Opposition it the Senate, the upper house of Parliament.

Interestingly, Gilani, who had lost to Sanjrani the post of Senate’s chairman in an election on March 12 by seven votes, has been waging a legal battle against him.

His appointment has come as a setback to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) as it does not support Gilani. The PDM is fighting to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan from the office.

It was decided by the PDM that the Leader of Opposition would be from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

However, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is a part of the PDM, said that the situation had changed after Gilani lost the Senate chairman election and suggested Gilani’s name for the Leader of Opposition, which was opposed by the PML-N and the JUI-F.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, reacting to Gilani getting the post of the Leader of Opposition, said that those “ditching the PDM would have to face the people”.

The victory was interpreted by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the death of the PDM.

“The PDM has died as people of Pakistan has rejected those who want to create chaos in the country,” said Shibli Faraz, a government spokesman.