Pakistan govt postpones All Parties Conference on terrorism, again

Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Tuesday postponed for a second time a crucial meeting of all parties to discuss the increasing incidents of militancy in the country and the ways to tackle the growing menace.

The All Parties Conference (APC), initially set to meet on February 7, was rescheduled to take place on February 9 but was delayed again.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted about the meeting being postponed, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be travelling to Turkiye on Wednesday to show solidarity in the wake of the tragic earthquake there.

The premier is also expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Due to the prime minister’s visit to Turkey, the APC convened on Thursday, February 9 is being postponed, a new date will be announced in consultation with the allies,” Aurangzeb tweeted.

The government last week decided to call a meeting of all political parties after a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar killed over 100 people.

Pakistan is in the grip of a new wave of terrorism, and the APC is expected to help to review the National Action Plan (NAP) to plug holes in the policy to deal with terrorism.

The NAP was designed to eliminate militancy after the Peshawar school attack by the Pakistani Taliban in 2014, which killed more than 150 people, including 131 students.