PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided not to attend the crucial meeting of Apex committee, which is scheduled to take place here later today.
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The meeting, which is scheduled to take place at Governor House, comes after Monday’s bombing in Peshawar mosque, in which some 101 people lost their lives and more than 200 injured.
The meeting will be attended by all service chiefs including Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, as well as forces top brass including ISI Chief Lt-General Nadeem Anjum, Chairman joint chiefs of staff committee and Navy and Air Force chiefs, and head of other security and intelligence agencies.
Announcing this decision, former speaker National Assembly and PTI leader Asad Qaiser told media that it wasn’t possible for the party to attend Apex committee meeting at the moment when it was being victimized. He questioned as to how could PTI respond affirmative on the invitation to attend Apex committee meeting which at the other hand it was facing arrests?
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He said PMLN’s Ayaz Sadiq contacted PTI at around 11:30pm last night, after which party leaders approached Chairman Imran Khan. He said it was then the decision was taken not to attend the Apex Committee meeting, adding that the government go into ‘course correction’ to develop some favourable condition for talks.
Responding to a question, he said PTI hadn’t decided as yet about whether or not to attend the All Parties Conference (APC) convened by PM Shehbaz Sharif.
Asad Qaiser alleged “the government has changed the policy as there was peace during our tenure,” adding that the unrest these days was the result of present government’s policies.
Asad Qaiser, however, said PTI representatives from Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan had been allowed to attend the Peshawar huddle.
