Shehbaz Sharif confirms meeting COAS Gen Bajwa ahead of APC

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday has confirmed meeting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa ahead of All Parties Conference (APC). Informally talking to media outside the Lahore High Court (LHC), the PML-N leader said discussion on Gilgit Baltistan matters was held during the meeting with the army chief. All the parliamentary leaders were also present on the occasion. Shehbaz Sharif said that the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is trying to oppress PML-N. The decisions taken during APC will be implemented at any cost, he told. “15 parliamentary leaders [representing the opposition and the government] were present in the meeting with the army chief, during which the issue of Gilgit Baltistan came under discussion,” Shehbaz said. Claiming that the PML-N is being pressured, he said the decisions made by the all parties conference held on Sunday will be implemented no matter if he is sent behind the bars. Meanwhile, the LHC bench headed by Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem extended interim bail of Shehbaz Sharif until September 24. The PML-N president along with his counsel Amjad Pervaiz appeared before it. On September 20, 2020, the 11-party opposition‘s APC hosted by Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had demanded resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The 26-point resolution passed by the APC stated that the opposition had decided to form a national alliance in the name of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The APC had also decided to hold a long march against the government in January 2021. The selected government has ruined the common man’s life with rising inflation, unemployment, and taxes, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in joint press conference after APC. The “selected” government was responsible for the fall of Kashmir, APC members stated. NNI