PTI to march on Islamabad after Imran Khan access talks collapse

Pakistan braced for a protest by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Sunday after the party said it would go ahead with its long march to Islamabad following the collapse of talks with the government.

The second round of talks between government negotiators and PTI leaders began at 4 pm on Saturday and continued through the night before ending early Sunday without a breakthrough. PTI had announced the march for September 27 last month, but later postponed it to October 4 after the federal government took tough steps to stop the protest.

PTI's main demands include an immediate meeting with its jailed founder Khan and a decision to shift him to a hospital where his personal doctors can examine him. The party has also demanded the release of Khan's sisters and others detained ahead of the protest, a proper medical check-up of Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, and that their cases be heard properly without interference.

The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since 2023, when he was arrested after being convicted in a corruption case. He is lodged in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, who was part of the government delegation, said on Sunday that the talks failed mainly because the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government "could not assure whether they would cooperate in the fight against terrorism in the future". Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, or KPK, is governed by PTI, and the party's march is set to begin from there.

According to sources, the second round of talks failed over the issue of access to Khan. The government insisted that PTI first announce the cancellation of the protest and that the question of a meeting with the jailed leader would be decided later. The party, however, demanded a meeting with Khan before taking any decision on the protest, the sources said.

Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan leader Senator Allama Nasir Abbas reiterated on X that the talks had failed over the issue of a meeting with Khan. "No understanding could be reached regarding the respective roles of the province and the federal government concerning terrorism in the province, and the matter of a meeting with Imran Khan remains unresolved," said Abbas, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. "We endeavoured to reach a conclusion, but the deadlock persists -- specifically regarding access to Khan Sahib's personal physician," he added.

Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sherry Rehman, who also took part in the talks, said the government delegation discussed all the points with the opposition. "Unfortunately, the draft [agreement] was changed four times after it was agreed upon," she told Geo News, adding that she would not go into the details.

KPK Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced at 12:46 am that the protest would go ahead. In a message on X, he said party supporters from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat would join the long march from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at 1 pm on Sunday. The convoy will halt for the night near Karak, leave at 12:30 pm the next day and stay overnight near Kohat. At 12 pm on October 6, protesters from Kohat, Hangu, Kurram and Orakzai will join the convoy, which will move towards Peshawar and spend the night near Mattani. Afridi said the convoy would leave Budh Bair in Peshawar on the afternoon of October 7. "The remaining constituencies of Peshawar will join us at Kohat Road Bridge and the Motorway Toll Plaza. And we will spend the night near Charsadda Interchange," he said. The protesters will leave Charsadda Interchange at 12:30 pm on October 8 after people from Charsadda and Mohmand join them. Afridi did not spell out the final leg of the journey to Islamabad, saying people "of entire KPK" would gather at Khairabad on October 8 and spend the night there. "God willing, the plan for the next phase will be announced there," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's political adviser Rana Sanaullah said the protesters would not be allowed to enter Islamabad. "No one would be allowed to enter Islamabad," he told reporters. The federal government had earlier threatened to block roads leading to the capital with shipping containers and increase the deployment of security personnel to stop the protesters. The talks ended without agreement, and both the protest plan and the government's response remained in place on Sunday.