KP CM again absents himself from COAS event

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur skipped the dinner hosted by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, for political leadership, sources said on Saturday.

When reached, Faraz Mughal, the spokesman for the chief minister, told The News that the chief minister was invited to the dinner, but couldn’t attend the function due to his party meetings in Peshawar. “The chief minister was invited to the dinner, but since he was busy with the party meetings, he couldn’t attend the dinner,” the spokesman added.

Senior security officials confirmed to The News that the chief minister was officially invited to the dinner.

Besides senior leadership of major political parties, high-ranking government officials, and senior officers from the three services, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the governors, and chief ministers from other provinces attended the dinner. Gandapur had also skipped the ceremony where the baton of the field marshal was conferred on the Chief of the Army Staff Syed Asim Munir at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Thursday.