Consultations begin to schedule meeting between NA opposition leader and prime minister

Consultations have commenced between the offices of National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to arrange a meeting, following Sharif's letter requesting the appointment of a new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). According to a source cited by Dawn, the dialogue was initiated by Prime Minister Shehbaz, inviting Opposition Leader Achakzai for mandatory consultations regarding the CEC appointment.

Initially, Achakzai had urged Sharif to appoint a new CEC and two additional members representing Sindh and Balochistan in August. A Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) spokesperson confirmed a meeting held at the Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas' chamber, chaired by Achakzai and attended by PTI Chairman Gohar Khan, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, and others.

The meeting discussed the September 27 protest, with Achakzai and Abbas directing PTI to prepare fully for the demonstration. Following the prime minister's letter, consultations between the opposition leader's and prime minister's offices to schedule a meeting have begun. The incumbent CEC, Sikandar Sultan Raja, whose five-year term ended on January 26, 2025, has faced controversy since the PTI government's ouster in April 2022.

Critics claim Raja denied PTI its party symbol and potentially disadvantaged the party by disqualifying potential PTI-backed independents from the ruling coalition. The CEC and members have served beyond their constitutional term expiration, with the current term ending on March 12, 2025, under a proviso in Article 215(1) of the Constitution.