— PTI likely to attend APC if federal govt shows flexibility
— Govt postpones moot for two days after PTI’s ‘signal’ to attend moot
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday dropped a hint on attending the All Parties’ Conference (APC) if formally invited by the federal government.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the positive signal conveyed from the PTI was the major reason that the federal government on Monday decided to delay the APC for two days – pushing the moot to February 9.
The sources said that a breakthrough was on the cards after initial back-channel contacts between the federal government and the PTI was poised to attend the moot if the federal government may show flexibility on major issues.
PTI central leaders lashed out at the “imported government” for its policy of political victimization and revenge, saying that the PTI did not receive any formal invitation pertaining to participation of the ‘imported Prime Minister-convened APC’ to discuss the alarming upsurge of terrorism in the country.
In a statement on Monday, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and former NA speaker and PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser said that the PTI leaders would consult their participation in the APC once the party received a formal invitation in this regard.
Fawad Chaudhry said that they came to know about Shahbaz Sharif’s invitation to the PTI pertaining to the participation in the APC through media but the PTI did not receive any formal invitation in this regard hitherto.
Fawad Chaudhry said that after receiving a formal invitation, they would consult regarding participation of the party in the conference.
Asad Qaiser said that the government representatives invited him to participate in the APC over the phone the other day, which, he said, was not a proper way of invitation.
He said that they were cognizant of the fact that the country was suffering from serious crises and there was a dire need for unity at this juncture. However, he said that the government’s behavior was immature, which was main stumbling block in creating an environment of unity.
He made it clear that if the government was really serious in dealing with mounting problems, it had to change its attitude and had to demonstrate maturity to pull the country out of the prevailing quagmire.
Asad Qaiser went on to say that the PTI government had uprooted terrorism from the country through a better strategy and established peace in across the country. He said that the PTI always kept the interest of Pakistan supreme in its every policy due to which we got the desired results.
“We are ready to forget all our differences for peace in the country, but the imported government needs to change its behavior first,” Asad Qaiser concluded.
APC on terror resurgence pushed to February 9
Meanwhile, Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, announced on Monday that the government has postponed the All Parties Conference (APC) in Islamabad from February 7 to February 9.
The conference aims to address important challenges facing Pakistan and will involve discussions on a joint strategy to combat terrorism and a review of the National Action Plan (NAP) adopted following the attack on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar in 2014.
The prime minister had also extended an invitation to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party for the conference. Economic Affairs Minister Ayaz Sadiq reached out to its top leaders, including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and former defense minister Pervez Khattak, inviting them to the meeting.
However, PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry claimed the party has not yet received an official invitation.
The recent rise in terrorism in the country, combined with economic hardships, is the backdrop for an upcoming event. On January 30, a mosque bombing in Peshawar resulted in the deaths of over 100 people, mostly police officers.
Additionally, foreign exchange reserves have declined to a low of $3.09 billion, which experts predict will not cover more than three weeks’ worth of imports.
The government is currently engaged in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a stalled bailout program, which if successful, could also lead to the release of funds from other sources.
