New leader of Opposition appointed in Pakistan Punjab Assembly

Hamza Shahbaz, the son of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif, was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Thursday.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi issued a written order appointing 44-year-old Hamza as the Leader of the Opposition in the provincial assembly, Geo TV reported.

Citing sources, it said Hamza's appointment had faced a delay after the Assembly Secretariat received a complaint about forged signatures on the nomination papers.

"After probing into the matter and ensuring that signatures were not forged, the Punjab Assembly speaker proceeded with Hamza's appointed," it said.

Hamza's father Shehbaz Sharif serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab from 2008 till 2018.

Last month, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Sardar Usman Buzdar defeated Hamza by 27 votes to get elected as chief minister of Punjab - the most populous province of Pakistan.