PTI mulling over which foreign leaders to invite for Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Wednesday met Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to discuss which foreign dignitaries could be invited to the prime minister’s oathtaking ceremony on August 11, Dawn News Tv reported. Sources privy to the separate meetings held between PTI’s Shireen Mazari and Shafqat Mahmood, and the meeting with the foreign secretary, said that the PTI leaders wished to know which foreign dignitaries it would be possible to invite for the ceremony. The sources said that the PTI leaders wished to invite the heads of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) member states ─ including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as China and Turkey. According to sources, there was also a discussion not inviting any Saarc members to the event. The PTI leaders also asked the FO for suggestions on whom they should invite to the meeting. Members of the FO maintained that calling foreign leaders to the oath taking is a sensitive matter and all perspectives need to be taken into consideration. Initial arguments from the FO suggested that the office believes Pakistan would face a bigger embarrassment if the Indian PM declined the invitation. PTI Spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry later confirmed to our correspondent that the party had asked the FO about inviting foreign leaders and dignitaries to the event. Chaudhry told Dawn that the PTI had asked the FO if it would be possible to invite foreign dignitaries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, given the short period of time before the ceremony takes place. He had said that the party is awaiting a response from the FO on the matter. Additionally, he said, the party had invited celebrities like Amir Khan, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavasker for the ceremony. Chaudhry confirmed the developments in an informal media talk outside the Supreme Court, where he had gone to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar. Talking about his meeting with the CJP, Chaudhry said that he had met with the CJP in his capacity as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. “The PTI wants to build bridges with all institutions as we are in the government,” he said, adding: “We want a smooth relation with all institutions; we don’t want acrimony or confrontation with any institution.”