The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) may request the National Assembly Speaker to nominate Makhdoom Amin Fahim as opposition leader - for the ARD chairman is enjoying the support of majority of the opposition members.
Maulana Fazlur Rahman, leader of the opposition and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) secretary-general, which abstained from voting to elect leader of the House on Tuesday, is supposed to lose his slot if the Speaker's criterion is adopted.
Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, while nominating Maulana Fazlur Rehman as opposition leader, had ruled that he had secured the second highest votes after Jamali.
The PML (N) central vice-president Mushahidullah Khan told Business Recorder on telephone that the Speaker was required to nominate Amin Fahim as opposition leader on his own.
The criterion the Speaker had set for the nomination of Fazl is completely fulfilled by the ARD chairman after Tuesday's election for Shujaat as parliamentary leader. In reply to a question, he said the ARD would not hesitate to request the Speaker in this regard.
"Though, we expect nothing good from any office-holder of this government, but we will not shy away from sending a formal request to the Speaker in this regard," he said.
Mushahidullah said that the government had taken no time to replace Jamali. Therefore, the Speaker should nominate Fahim as opposition leader without wasting any time, he said.
Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, who had supported Maulana Fazl in his race for the premiership against Jamali, requested the MMA to back Fahim's candidature.
Imran, who attended the ARD parliamentary meeting in the Parliament House, tried to persuade the six-party religious alliance to vote for Fahim.
He informed Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Fazlur Rahman about the aspirations of the PML (N), which had voted for the religious alliance during parliamentary leader election in 2002.
He informed that the ARD co-operation could brighten the prospects of joining hands of the two alliances in a struggle against President General Pervez Musharraf.
A MMA leader said that the ARD must have abstained from this exercise for it was "the unconstitutional move being taken at the behest of President General Pervez Musharraf".
"This was an unnecessary exercise. The democratic forces must not take part in such a thing," he said after the MMA parliamentary party meeting in the Parliament House.
The leader remained tightlipped over the issue of the ARD taking the slot of the opposition leader after Shujaat's election as prime minister.
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