ISLAMABAD: Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was invited to an all-party conference (APC) by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to find solutions to the daunting economic and political crises.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb stated in a statement that the prime minister wants to bring leaders of all political parties to the table so that they can collaborate with leaders to find solutions to “important national challenges.” On February 7, the conference is scheduled to take place in Islamabad.
She stated that Federal Minister Ayaz Sadiq has begun contacting prominent PTI leaders to invite them to participate in the upcoming moot, including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and former Defense Minister Pervez Khattak.
The invitation is significant because the PDM-led government and the PTI have always been at odds over nearly all national issues, not only since Khan was ousted from the PM Office but also when the roles were reversed.
The move comes at a time when Pakistan faces a grave threat from terrorism and troubling economic and political conditions that do not appear to be getting better anytime soon.
The statement also states that the prime minister has invited two PTI representatives to attend the Apex committee meeting tomorrow (Friday) in Peshawar.
According to the minister, all stakeholders, including police, Rangers, and officials from intelligence agencies, will attend the meeting of the committee.
The meeting will talk about how to get rid of terrorism, the suicide bombing that happened on Monday in Peshawar, and how to improve the police and counterterrorism department (CTD).
The meeting is important because the government has a hard time fighting terrorism. Since the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November of last year, the number of terror attacks has increased.
Investors require assurance that the nation of 220 million people is a viable location in spite of all obstacles, so a political breakthrough would provide much-needed stability.
As Pakistan desperately tries to restart the IMF’s stalled bailout program, the country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have also fallen to precarious levels.
The central bank reported that during the week that ended on January 27, its reserves decreased by $592 million to $3,086.2 million—their lowest level since February 2014—and are barely sufficient to cover imports for 18.5 days (0.61 months).
‘Consultations’
In response, Qaiser informed Geo News that the government had contacted him regarding the possibility of PTI representatives attending the Apex committee meeting tomorrow.
“The senior leadership of the party is considering the invitation from the government. The former speaker of the NA stated, “We will inform the government of our final decision after the consultations.”
He went on to say that the final decision would be made by the PTI chief, who was a vocal critic of the current government.
Pervez Khattak, a senior leader of the PTI, told Geo News that he was unaware of the Apex committee meeting and had not been invited to the moot.
Inayatullah Khan, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in the KP, denied receiving an invitation to the meeting when Geo News contacted him.
Awami National Party (ANP) spokesperson stated that the party had received the invitation and that KP President Aimal Wali Khan would attend the meeting.
