Refusal to attend APC: Ego more important for Imran than Pakistan, says Sherry Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has said that Imran Khan’s refusal to attend the All-Parties Conference (APC) called by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reflects his priorities, which do not align with Pakistan’s security and interests. It also shows that ego is more important for Imran than Pakistan.

“As Pakistan goes through a time of great crisis, it is unfortunate to witness that Imran Khan continues to act out a narrative that has lost its relevance and credibility,” she said while reacting to the refusal of PTI Chairman Imran Khan to attend the All-Parties Conference called by the prime minister on challenges being faced by Pakistan.

Sherry Rehman said, “By calling the APC, the coalition government is trying to bring the country’s political leadership on one page to discuss collective strategies so as to overcome the challenges the country is facing. But Khan’s politics of polarisation only diminishes the national unity needed to fight national threats, particularly terrorism, on which he still signals ambiguity.”

Senator Sherry Rehman, who is also the Vice President PPP Parliamentarians, said Imran’s refusal to attend the meeting held in the Governor House, Peshawar, to discuss the Peshawar Mosque tragedy, anti-terror meetings in Peshawar and the APC in Islamabad that no party has ever refused in the past no matter how deep the political differences, reflects Imran Khan’s selfish brand of politics.

“He has once again shown that PTI’s politics is more important than saving Pakistan. For him, this was an opportunity that narcissism squandered,” she said.

The minister stated that Imran Khan now says that he is not answerable for the current crisis because he is not in power anymore, despite the fact that PTI has ruled in KP for the last 8-years. “Imran Khan thinks he can be acquitted by blaming others every time. Our government didn’t call Osama bin Laden a martyr, gave a presidential pardon to convicted terrorists, or negotiated with the terrorists,” she said, adding that all this happened under the disastrous tenure of PTI for which innocent Pakistani citizens are now paying the price. The minister for climate change said Pakistan has already paid a heavy price against terrorism over the last two decades, with more than 80,000 Pakistanis losing their lives to this war. “We will not allow the terrorists who have killed our soldiers, civilians, police, and leaders like Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed to raise their heads again in Pakistan,” she asserted. Senator Sherry Rehman said if Imran Khan continues to express differences on countering terrorism or refusing to renew the national resolve to fight terror, he is continuing to convey a policy of tolerance for non-state actors. “This policy of his might be expedient for his extremism-friendly politics, but it will be disastrous for Pakistan,” she said.