KHAN’S PARTY WANTS MODI AT OATH TAKING CEREMONY

ISLAMABAD : A top leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Wednesday that the party has asked the foreign office to apprise it on whether heads of state, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could be invited to Imran Khan’s oath taking ceremony, according to a media report. PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said that Bollywood star Aamir Khan and cricketers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar have already been invited for the event.

NEWDELHI: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan plans to invite former Indian Test cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Navjot Sidhu and actor Aamir Khan to his swearing-in ceremony as the next premier of Pakistan, a spokesman for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Wednesday.

A final decision on inviting foreign dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be made by the foreign office, Fawad Chaudhry said on the phone from Islamabad.

“Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, (Navjot) Sidhu and Aamir Khan – these four people will be invited. The Foreign Office will decide on the foreign dignitaries,” Chaudhry said.

It was not immediately clear when the invitations would be sent to the former cricketers and Aamir Khan, with Imran Khan’s inauguration expected to be held on August 11.

PTI has emerged the singlelargest party in the National Assembly in the recent elections, but it is still in talks with several smaller parties and independent candidates to secure the required numbers to form the government in the country.

PTI leaders met foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of inviting leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) states, including Modi, and the heads of state of China and Turkey, Pakistan’s traditional allies, PTI leaders said.