LAHORE: Federal Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said Saturday that an All Parties Conference (APC) on national security would be convened after Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s return to Pakistan.
The government was previously expected to hold the APC on July 12 to evolve a national strategy to curb militancy and address the overall law and order and security situation in the country. The conference was later delayed.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore earlier today, Senator Pervez Rasheed said the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz government “has been considering various steps to formulate a consensus policy regarding terrorism in the country.”
Rasheed said that comprehensive strategy would be adopted against the terrorist outfits. He added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had also ordered a briefing from the intelligence and security agencies concerned for a consolidated national security strategy.
The minister said that the government would utilise all resources to make Pakistan stronger and peaceful.
Khan, who is currently in London, will be returning to the country towards the end of this month. The PTI chief has called for a closed-door meeting with the military leadership before an APC on terrorism.
Khan says the conference would be a futile exercise if it was held before fully knowing the underlying facts about the country’s involvement in the ongoing war on terror.
Abbottabad Commission Report
Answering a question about the report by a government commission formed to probe facts behind the May 2 raid by US forces that killed Osama bin Laden, Senator Rasheed said that the federal government was considering the possibility of officially releasing a copy of the report.
The report, which was completed earlier this year, is yet to be made public by the government.
The Information Minister said that a ministerial committee led by former law minister Farooq H Naek had opposed the publication of the Abbottabad Commission Report.
A version of the report was published by a foreign news outlet earlier this month.
Regarding nominations for the president and governors, the Information Minister said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would himself announce the names of the PML-N's candidates for president and governor.
To a query, he said that the PML-N government had requested the Election Commission of Pakistan for rescheduling of presidential election as it clashed with the 27th of Ramazan, the holy day of Lailatul Qadr.