Eight parties name Dar for Opposition Leader's slot in Senate

As many as 25 senators belonging to eight political parties in the Senate on Saturday submitted an application to Chairman Senate Chamber, requesting him to notify Ishaq Dar of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as leader of the opposition in the upper house of the parliament.
The application has been signed by 25 Senators of the opposition parties including PML-Q (like minded), PML-Q ('independent group'), PPP-Sherpao, Balochistan National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith and PML-N. Earlier in the day, PML-Q (like-minded) announced to support PML-N's Dar for the slot of leader of the opposition in Senate under an understanding to support PML-Q (like minded) for the slot of deputy opposition leader.
Before announcing his support to the PML-N's candidate before the media, President Like-minded Senator Salim Saifullah Khan signed memorandum of understanding after taking his party's senior leaders on board. PML-N's Senator Pervez Rashid, PML-Q (like-minded) Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan, Senator Ghaffar Qureshi, Senator Gulshan Saeed, and Senator Fauzia Fakhrul Zaman and Ajab Gul Surni were also present on the occasion.
Salim Saifullah, while briefing media, said that Senator Dar is an apt economist and his election as an opposition leader is the best choice, keeping in view the critical economic situation of the country. He expressed the hope that Senator Dar will play his active role in pulling the country out from the current economic crisis, adding that strong opposition is ultimate guarantee in making any government successful.
He regretted that absence of strong opposition in the parliament was the main reason of the bad governance as well as failure of the incumbent government in resolving the masses' problems. Saifullah urged all the political parties in the Senate to a unanimous leader of the opposition with the similar spirit as was demonstrated in the National Assembly. He also urged Ishaq Dar to support candidate of the like-minded for the slot of deputy opposition leader in the upper house, which he said would be nominated from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan or Sindh.