PM invites allies to lunch today

Prime Minister Imran Khan will host a luncheon for the allies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday and hold consultations with them on the current political situation, opposition’s narrative and a strategy to deal with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

The invites for the lunch, which will be held at the PM House, had been sent to the leaders of the ally parties.

The premier will take the allies into confidence on the prevailing political situation in the country and discuss the method to tackle the PDM.

The allies will keep their various demands before PM Imran including the requirement of development funds.

Sources said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) despite their reservations will attend the lunch.

Earlier, the PML-Q had refused to participate, but after a high-level contact established by the government, the chances are that Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi would attend the event.

Sources in the PML-Q complained that no contact was established by the premier with the party’s leadership for the last more than six months and that now they were being invited for a luncheon.

Among those who will attend the luncheon are AML’s Sheikh Rashid, MQM’s Aminul Haq, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Kishwer Zehra, GDA’s Fehmida Mirza and a delegation of BAP led by Zubaida Jalal.

Sources said the invite had not been extended to government’s former ally BNP-M.