PTI member ‘invites’ Jaishankar to join protest, party distances itself

PESHAWAR: Jailed ex-PM Imran Khan‘s PTI has distanced itself from a party member’s invitation to India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar to join its protest, asserting that no foreign country has a role in its political struggle.
Party chairman Gohar Ali Khan said Saturday that remarks by Muhammad Ali Saif, an adviser on information to the CM of the PTI-governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were taken out of context.Saif said the party plans to “invite” Jaishankar to join its protests in Peshawar, attracting backlash from the governing coalition.
Khan said: “No foreign dignitary, including from India, has been given an invitation to PTI to attend the protest. No foreign dignitary is allowed to make any comment on our internal matter.” Jaishankar will attend SCO-CHG meeting in Pakistan on Oct 15 and 16.
30 PTI backers held in Lahore
Despite curfew-like situation in Lahore, around 30 supporters of Imran Khan’s PTI, including lawyers, were arrested after they managed to reach historic Minar-e-Pakistan premises demanding release of the former prime minister. Lahore police said it also booked over 200 PTI leaders and workers, including Imran, under terrorism charges.