ISLAMABAD The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday rebuffed reports which claimed that the party was planning to invite foreign dignitaries to the oath-taking ceremony of its chairman Imran Khan as Pakistan’s Prime Minister and added that the decision on the same is pending. Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI spokesperson took to his Twitter handle and said that they would take the decision regarding the same after consulting with the Pakistan Foreign Office.
“Media speculations about international dignitaries attending PM oath ceremony are not correct. We have sought the advice of Foreign Office on the matter and will decide accordingly #PTI,” he tweeted.
Earlier in the day, some media reports suggested that the PTI was considering to invite leaders from SAARC countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Imran’s oath-taking ceremony in Pakistan.
According to figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan, the PTI was declared as the single largest party in the recently-concluded general election. The party, however, fell short of the 137 majority mark as it won 116 of the 270 NA seats.
The party leadership is reportedly in talks with other political parties and independent candidates in a bid to woo them to join its ranks to form a coalition government at the centre.
Modi on Monday telephoned Khan to congratulate him on his party’s victory in the general elections and hoped that “Pakistan and India will work to open a new chapter in bilateral ties”.
Khan thanked Modi for his wishes and emphasised that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.
“Wars and bloodshed instead of resolving disputes lead to tragedies,” Khan had said.
Khan in his victory speech had also said that better relations between Pakistan and India would be “good for all of us”.
“If India’s leadership is ready, we are ready to improve ties with India. If you take on step forward we will take two steps forward,” he had said.
The relations between India and Pakistan remained tense since 2014. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had travelled to Delhi to attend Modi’s oath taking ceremony and the Indian premier had in December 2015 made a stop-over in Lahore to greet his counterpart on his birthday.
The India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place.
The two sides often accuse each other of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, resulting in civilian casualties.
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