Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday announced that the all parties conference (APC) on terrorism, scheduled to be held on February 9 in Islamabad, has been deferred as the premier will be travelling to Turkey to console with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the distressing earthquake that hit the country.
Turkey and Syria have witnessed a 7.8 magnitude powerful earthquake which claimed approximately 5,000 lives and injured innumerable people.
On a Twitter, the minister wrote: “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave for Ankara tomorrow morning, he will express his condolences to the Turkish president and to the people of Turkey over the destruction caused by the earthquake and the loss of life.”
وزیراعظم شہباز شریف کل صبح انقرہ روانہ ہوں گے، وہ صدر اردوان سے زلزلے کی تباہی، جانی نقصان پر افسوس اور تعزیت،ترکیہ کے عوام سے یک جہتی کریں گے۔ وزیراعظم کے دورہ ترکیہ کی وجہ سے جمعرات 9 فروری کو بلائی گئی اے پی سی مؤخر کی جا رہی ہے، اتحادیوں کی مشاورت سے نئی تاریخ کا اعلان ہوگا
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) February 7, 2023
Marriyum said that the APC on terrorism has been delayed due to the premier’s visit to Turkey, adding that a new date for the conference will be announced after consultations with the government’s allies.
This is the second time that the APC on terrorism has been postponed by the government.
Initially, the APC on terrorism was scheduled to take place on February 7. However, the date was later changed to February 9.
on the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Umer had clarified that PTI Chairman Imran Khan will not attend the federal government’s APC. The statement came in response to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation to his political rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to attend all-parties conference (APC) aimed at curbing terrorism and resolving the economic and political crisis being faced by the country
While talking to journalists outside the Lahore High Court, he said that Khan will not attend the APC. “Our leaders are being detained, how can we sit with the government,” he questioned.
He further said that it is expected that elections in Punjab likely to be conducted in the second week of April and directed the PTI contestants to gain momentum.
