Imran Khan's party to skip Pak government briefing amid strained ties with India

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan on Sunday announced to skip the key government briefing on the current situation between Pakistan and India.

This decision was announced in a statement by the party's political committee.

"Since this is merely a government briefing and there does not appear to be any serious attempt to build a national consensus, nor is there any intention to include an important national leader like Imran Khan, we believe that the participation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in this briefing is not necessary," the PTI said.

The party said that it has always condemned all forms of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in unequivocal and unambiguous terms, adding that Khan has clearly condemned terrorism in his messages to the nation from prison, but also emphasised the need for national unity, solidarity and internal stability.

"His (Khan) stance is self-explanatory, and the insight and courage with which he has conveyed the message of unity to the nation is a reflection of the thinking of a national leader," the party said.

It asked the government to immediately convene an All-Parties Conference (APC) to take all national parties into confidence and formulate a common course of action.

"Unfortunately, the government wasted this opportunity. Not only was the APC not convened, but instead a one-sided briefing is being given by a government minister," it said.

The party also said that it has a clear stance that in the event of any external aggression "we will stand in the forefront to defend the country and the nation".

Earlier, state-media reported that Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif will brief leaders of all political parties in the context of the current national security situation, and tension between Pakistan and India.

Ties between India and Pakistan plummeted following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.