Leader of the Opposition (Pakistan)


The leader of the opposition is the people's elected politician who is, by law, the leader of the Official Opposition in Pakistan. The leader of the opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest political party in the National Assembly.
The leader of the opposition is normally viewed as an alternative Prime Minister. There is also a leader of the opposition in the Senate, who is elected / nominated separately by the opposition members of the Senate of Pakistan.

Powers of the opposition leader

The leader of opposition has constitutional authority to consult with the elected prime minister for appointment of a caretaker prime minister. A caretaker prime minister is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and opposition leader.
They have constitutional authority to consult with the prime minister for appointment of the chief election commissioner and members of Election Commission of Pakistan. The president appoints the chief election commissioner and members after consultation with the opposition leader and prime minister.
The chairman of the National Accountability Bureau is appointed after consultation between the prime minister and opposition leader.
They also recommend names of two members of the National Assembly as members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan from opposition benches for appointment of judges of Supreme Court, High Courts and Federal Shariat Court.

List

A list of the leaders of the opposition before and according to the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.
Leaders of the OppositionPortraitStarting termEnding termPolitical affiliationPolitical ideology
1Kiran Shankar Roy9 August 194722 January 1948PNCSecularism
2Dhirendranath Datta23 January 19481953PNCSecularism
3Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya19536 July 1955PNCSecularism
4Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy7 July 195511 September 1956ALIslamic socialism
5I. I. Chundrigar16 December 19571 October 1958PMLPakistani nationalism
6Sardar Bahadur Khan8 June 196221 August 1964NDFIslamic democracy
7Nurul Amin12 June 196525 March 1969NDFIslamic democracy
8Khan Abdul Wali Khan14 April 197217 August 1975NAPDemocratic socialism
9Mufti Mehmood17 August 19755 July 1977PNAIslamism
10Syed Fakhar Imam24 March 198529 May 1988PML(F)National conservatism
Khan Abdul Wali Khan2 December 19886 August 1990ANPDemocratic socialism
11Benazir Bhutto6 November 199018 July 1993PPPDemocratic socialism
12Nawaz Sharif19 October 19935 November 1996PMLNPakistani conservatism
Benazir Bhutto17 February 199712 October 1999PPPDemocratic socialism
13Fazal-ur-Rehman25 March 200415 November 2007JUI (F)Religious conservatism
14Parvez Elahi10 April 200816 September 2008PML(Q)Conservatism
15Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan17 September 20087 June 2013PMLNPakistani conservatism
16Khurshid Shah7 June 201331 May 2018PPPDemocratic socialism
17Shehbaz Sharif20 August 201810 April 2022PMLNPakistani conservatism
18Raja Riaz20 May 202210 August 2023PTIWelfarism
19Omar Ayub2 April 20248 August 2025SICConstitutionalism
20Mehmood khan Achakzai16 January 2025IncumbentPKMAPConstitutionalism