Senator Shahadat Awan raised a point during the October 30 session regarding the status of leaders of the House and Opposition, and the Chief Whip after completion of constitutional tenure of the last government. The minister clarified that as per parliamentary traditions, they would continue to perform their responsibilities. He also mentioned that a notification regarding the appointment of Saleem Manviwalla as Chief Whip had been reissued.
On October 31, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani claimed that he had received consent from the Caretaker Prime Minister to “retain Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar as Leader of the House.”
During a special session of the Upper House of Parliament, an objection was raised against the use of the title of Leader of the House by Ishaq Dar. PPP leader Shahadat Awan asked why the PML-N Senator had been labelled as the leader of the house on the agenda even though the elected government did not exist. In response, Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani said he had received consent from Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar that Ishaq Dar would continue as the leader of the house.
It is important to note that Ishaq Dar was appointed as leader of the house in the Senate by the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Dar was sworn in as a senator after he returned to the country following a five-year-long ‘self-exile’. He was later sworn in as the new finance minister. The PML-N leader had left the country in 2017 while standing trial in a corruption reference.