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Islamabad: Former premier Nawaz Sharif's party is set to get the slot of opposition leader in the National Assembly this week in the lower house of parliament.
The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has already formally submitted the name of its central leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza for the job of opposition leader.
Anticipating the outcome, the incumbent opposition leader from PML-Q, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has resigned, saying in a letter to the speaker that he had taken the decision in the interest of smooth working relations in parliament.
Pointing out that the slot was being sought by the PML-N after it quit the federal ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party; Elahi said that he did not want to get involved in any controversy.
Statement
A notification giving the slot of the opposition leader to the PML-N nominee is expected to be issued by the speaker before the September 20 joint session of the National Assembly and the senate to be addressed by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a statement overnight, welcomed Elahi's resignation as a step that would strengthen the democratic institutions.
PML-Q, which ruled the country under former president Pervez Musharraf, was reduced to third position in the National Assembly in the February general. It had around 50 seats against PPP's 124 and 92 won by PML-N. In the September presidential election won by Zardari, many of the PML-Q federal and provincial legislators left their party.
Despite the setback, the party finds itself in a position where its tilt toward the PPP or PML-N can be politically critical if a split between the two major parties in the key province of Punjab comes into the open.
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