ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has informed the government that before proceeding to Britain for treatment, party Chairman Imran Khan would take part in the multiparty conference to prepare the national security policy, but he changed his decision.
“Senior PTI leader Ahsan Rashid told us that Imran Khan will participate in the meeting on July 12 and fly to London the following day,” Federal Information Minister and chief official spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid said.
But on the second day, he said, Rashid again approached the government to say that the PTI chief was going abroad on July 8 instead of July 13.
They know the reason behind the change of decision, he said.
Imran Khan has been urging the Nawaz Sharif government to quickly convene the conference, inviting all stakeholders, to formulate the security policy.
He also wanted Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvaz Kayani to attend the meeting.
On Monday, however, the PTI chief told a TV channel that he would have preferred a much smaller summit of chief ministers, the prime minister and the army brass to “speak the truth” about the existing agreements, understandings etc with the United States or Nato, so that a factual picture was available and then a workable strategy could be evolved bringing everyone on the same page for implementation.
Imran Khan also stressed that unless this issue was tackled, nothing else would work and he would not be able to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign investment in KP.
One official view is that by departing abroad Imran Khan has avoided the conference for his own reasons otherwise he would have rescheduled his tour.
He has left it to senior PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi and KP Chief Minister Parvez Khattak to represent the party in the session.
However, it is a fact that Imran Khan was advised by doctors some time back to go to London for treatment but he has been averting it.
His party consistently took the stand that the chairman would get the treatment at home and not abroad. internews
