Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former defence minister Parvez Khattak said his party had not received any formal invitation to attend a meeting of the apex committee, scheduled to be held in Peshawar today (Friday) to consider measures against terrorism. His comments come after it emerged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also invited two representatives of the PTI to the apex committee meeting and the invitation in this regard had been conveyed by federal minister Ayaz Sadiq.

 The PTI leader said Mr Sadiq had extended the invitation as a friend, adding that a formal invitation should be sent to PTI Chairman Imran Khan to attend the meeting. He said the decision to participate in the huddle will be made after consultation with the party head. The moot will be held at the KP Governor House to consider steps to eradicate terrorism and upgrade the Counter-Terrorism Department and police in wake of the recent terrorist incident in the provincial capital.

All stakeholders including Rangers and officers of the intelligence institutions will attend the committee's meeting, which is going to be held after a gap of 15 months. The meeting has been called days after over 100 people, most of them were police officials, were martyred and 216 injured in a terrorist attack on a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines.

A suicide bomber, who managed to enter the red zone in disguise of police official, blew himself up in the mosque. The blast was powerful enough that a part of the mosque caved in, stranding several people under the rubble. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan has formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the incident.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP