- Reuters
- October 3, 2026
Government, PTI delegation reach Parliament House as talks yet to resume
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- Muhammad Faizan Khan
- October 3, 2026
ISLAMABAD Members of the government’s negotiating team, including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, began arriving at Parliament House on Saturday for the second day of formal talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, with the party’s planned October 4 march and access to incarcerated founder Imran Khan among the key issues.
The talks are being held in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who is facilitating them. Representatives of the government, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the opposition attended. According to the National Assembly Secretariat, the sides exchanged views in a constructive and cordial atmosphere and stressed the need to resolve political issues through dialogue.
PTI presses for access to Imran
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the opposition had come to the talks with the confidence of the people and intended to put forward its basic demands.
“We have come here to talk sense and reason,” he said, adding that the people wanted to see Imran Khan released and justice restored.
Raja said the party would not compromise on Imran’s health and that its primary demand was access to the PTI founder. He called for Imran to be examined by the medical board constituted by the Supreme Court, and said access should be granted to people the PTI founder trusted, arguing that this would improve the political dialogue.
He also demanded relief for women prisoners, naming Bushra Bibi, Dr Yasmin Rashid and Imran’s three sisters.
“If our demands are not accepted, we will stand with the Pakistani people until the very end,” he said. He also criticised what he described as irresponsible conduct by some members of the negotiating committee, saying a one-sided narrative had been presented before the media.
Government wants ‘meaningful’ talks
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the government wanted the negotiations to be meaningful and result-oriented.
The government has also sought the postponement or cancellation of the October 4 march, according to reports on the negotiations. The PTI has maintained that its protest plans remain linked to the outcome of the dialogue.
Chaudhry criticised recent statements on X by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, saying such remarks could affect the talks. He said Afridi’s remarks against political opponents and the government leadership were not appropriate for a chief minister and were “highly uncivilised and condemnable”.
Asked about the chief minister’s tweet, PPP leader Sherry Rehman said she would not comment on it, adding that everyone had the right to make their own decisions. “I do not comment. Negotiations are under way, and we will follow what our team decides,” she said.
PPP, government voice hope
Rehman said her party had positive expectations of the talks and believed matters were better resolved through democratic means. “We hold negotiations on the basis of hope and have good expectations,” she said.
She said the PPP had always given space to democratic processes. “Parliament is a safe place where we can discuss everything,” she said.
Rehman said all members of the negotiating teams were senior figures respected by the PPP, and urged that they be given space at the table. “The purpose of coming to the negotiating table is precisely to discuss these positions,” she said.
Federal Minister Amir Muqam, asked how hopeful he was, said there should be good expectations of the negotiations. “We should have good hopes from the negotiations,” he said, adding that the two sides had listened to each other the previous day and that Saturday’s outcome remained to be seen.
The government’s negotiating team includes Muqam, Rana Sanaullah, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Talal Chaudhry and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry. The PPP is represented by Senator Rehman and MNAs Syed Naveed Qamar and Ejaz Hussain Jakhrani. The opposition delegation comprises Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Asad Qaiser, Amir Dogar, Raja and Haleem Adil Sheikh.
Afridi says march will go ahead
Separately, Afridi said the PTI would neither allow a repeat of the May 9, 2023 unrest nor let anyone create circumstances leading to similar violence. “We will neither allow May 9 to happen again nor will we let anyone do so,” he said in a statement on X on Saturday.
He said the march would continue until the supremacy of the Constitution and law and an independent judiciary were restored. It will begin from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat on October 4 and proceed towards Islamabad, passing through Karak and Kohat before reaching Matni near Peshawar on October 6. The PTI had earlier postponed its initial September 27 date. Party leaders have described the protest as peaceful.
Afridi also criticised the federal government, alleging that political opponents were creating circumstances that could destabilise the country. He criticised remarks attributed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on terrorism threats from neighbouring provinces and alleged that Pashtuns were being unfairly portrayed. He said terrorism should not be treated merely as a “narrative war”, and claimed that peace could be restored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 100 days if government policy changed.
The talks began on Friday, and the two sides agreed to continue on Saturday.
