*ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan will skip next month’s UnitedNations General Assembly session to focus his attention on the country’seconomy, said his foreign minister.*

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will head the Pakistani delegation atthe 73rd UN General Assembly session set to open on September 18.

“No, the prime minister is not going. I will lead the Pakistanidelegation,” the foreign minister told reporters Tuesday evening.

There was a debate in Pakistan whether the new prime minister would attendthe UN session or stay home as part of his austerity drive and focus oneconomic issues.

“The prime minister of Pakistan thinks that the present situation incountry needs attention,” Qureshi told the media. He said Khan wants tofocus on his new government, sworn in earlier this month, and a loomingcurrency crisis that threatens to derail the fast-growing economy.