No foreign leaders, only friends, to be invited for Imran Khan’s swearing-in: Party

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has emerged the single largest party in the National Assembly.

Updated on: Aug 2, 2018, 17:58:02 IST

Imtiaz Ahmad, Hindustan Times, Islamabad | By HT Correspondent

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No foreign leader will be invited for Imran Khan’s swearing-in as Pakistan’s next prime minister, his party said on Thursday.

Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during the general election in Islamabad on July 25, 2018. (AFP)

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said the country’s Foreign Office had advised against inviting foreign dignitaries for the ceremony expected to be held on August 11. He had on Wednesday said PTI plans to invite former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Navjot Sidhu and Bollywood star Aamir Khan to the swearing-in. Media reports said the party considerd inviting leaders of SAARC nations, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China, and Turkey, too.

Chaudhry told a TV news channel that the ceremony will be held at the Presidency in Islamabad, and not in an open space as Imran Khan wanted earlier.

The PTI has emerged the single largest party in the National Assembly but it is still in talks with several smaller parties and independent candidates to secure the required numbers to form government.

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