PTI to abstain from APC called by ANP

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided not to participate in the All-Parties Conference (APC) convened by the Awami National Party (ANP) on May 3.

Former National Assembly (NA) speaker Asad Qaiser wondered how would their position be heard in the APC of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties.

Therefore, the party has decided not to participate in the APC.

“Our position is clear that the date of the election should be given and then the matter should be taken forward,” he added. “But PDM parties are wasting time, they know that they cannot compete with PTI in elections.”

The ANP has called an all-party conference on May 3 regarding the current political situation in the country and the election.

The decision to convene the APC was made on the orders of the party's central president, Asfandyar Wali Khan, according to a statement released by ANP Central Vice President Ameer Haider Khan Hoti earlier in April.

The statement added that a meeting of the party's central council would take place on May 2 in Islamabad to prioritise and prepare for the APC. Furthermore, the party had formed a committee, led by General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, to finalise the preparations for the conference.

The central vice president also made it clear that the APC would see representation of all political parties and people from different sects.

Last week ANP invited the Jamaat-e-Islam (JI) to join the APC in Islamabad on May 3. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who led a delegation from the ANP, met with Sirajul Haq, the head of the JI, and extended the invitation.

Days ago, it also extended an invitation to the PTI to participate in the upcoming APC scheduled for May 3. ANP's central spokesperson Zahid Khan and Hussain met with the PTI leadership and delivered the invitation. It is worth noting that the ANP is a member of the coalition government.

The current political crisis does not seem to be coming to an end as tensions between the political actors continue to grow while the people are being crushed under the increasing load of inflation. It remains to be seen whether the political leadership can find a way out of the crises Pakistan is facing today.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2023.