Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Tuesday that the all-parties conference (APC) summoned by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been postponed as the premier will be travelling to Turkey to condole with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the devastating earthquake that hit the country.
Turkey and Syria have witnessed a devastating earthquake of a magnitude of 7.8 which claimed more than 4,300 lives and injured innumerable people.
Read: Death toll rises above 4,300 after Turkey, Syria earthquakes
Taking to Twitter, the minister wrote: "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave for Ankara tomorrow morning, he will express his condolences to the Turkish president and to the people of Turkey over the destruction caused by the earthquake and the loss of life."
Marriyum said that the APC has been called off due to the PM's visit to Turkey, adding that a new date for the moot will be announced after consultations with the government's allies.
وزیراعظم شہباز شریف کل صبح انقرہ روانہ ہوں گے، وہ صدر اردوان سے زلزلے کی تباہی، جانی نقصان پر افسوس اور تعزیت،ترکیہ کے عوام سے یک جہتی کریں گے۔ وزیراعظم کے دورہ ترکیہ کی وجہ سے جمعرات 9 فروری کو بلائی گئی اے پی سی مؤخر کی جا رہی ہے، اتحادیوں کی مشاورت سے نئی تاریخ کا اعلان ہوگا
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) February 7, 2023
This is the second time that the APC, called following the Peshawar mosque attack, has been postponed by the government.
Initially, the APC was scheduled to take place on February 7. However, the date was changed to February 9.
PM Shehbaz had decided to convene the multi-party moot last week in a move that was seen as significant development amid rising political temperatures in the country.
The invitation for the meeting was also extended to PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, which was formally delivered to party leaders Pervez Khattak and Asad Qaiser by former speaker and federal minister, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The conference comes at a time when the country is facing an uptick in terrorist activity. On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of 84 people, mostly police officials.
