Islamabad, September 14, 2026: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding leader Akbar S. Babar has urged the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court to schedule for hearing his constitutional petition challenging the appointment of Mahmood Khan Achakzai as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
In a statement, Babar said his petition had been filed in February 2026 on the same legal basis as a Supreme Court judgment (PLD 2018, 370) that was now being relied upon in a petition concerning the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“We filed our constitutional petition in February 2026 on the same basis of the Supreme Court judgment (PLD 2018, page 370) that is now being relied upon to hear a petition against the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
He questioned why his petition, filed several months earlier, had not yet been scheduled for hearing while another petition based on the same judgment had been found maintainable.
Babar said his lawyer, Justice (retd.) Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, had already submitted a response to the preliminary objections raised by the Registrar of the Federal Constitutional Court.
He further claimed that the Federal Constitutional Court had already ruled that the Registrar was not authorised to raise objections to a constitutional petition and that such authority rested solely with the court.
“Justice demands similar treatment to our petition,” he said.
On February 24, 2026, Babar, through his lawyer Justice (retd.) Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, filed a petition before the Federal Constitutional Court challenging the appointment of Mahmood Khan Achakzai as Leader of the Opposition.
The petition sought annulment of the notification issued on January 16, 2026, declaring Achakzai Leader of the Opposition.
Babar maintained that the Speaker of the National Assembly had failed to fulfil the mandatory responsibility under Rule 39(3) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly.
Under the rule, he argued, the Speaker was required to independently verify the authenticity of signatures of parliamentarians supporting the nomination as well as their consent.
Babar said that following the acceptance of a petition on similar grounds for hearing, he hoped his constitutional petition challenging the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition would also be taken up by the apex court.
