Talal warns PTI’s long march will be ‘the country’s last’, says no talks without terrorism consensus

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Tuesday said the government had made “political and constitutional arrangements” to deal with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long march, warning that it would be the country’s last and that there had been enough leniency.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said there would be no further talks with the opposition without agreement on terrorism. Dialogue could move forward only on conditions, he said, adding that eliminating terrorism was essential and that national security and stability must come first.

Talks with the government

Chaudhry accused the PTI of deliberately keeping the negotiations from producing a result and said the opposition was hiding facts about them. He said the government had believed a “Charter of Democracy 2” was within reach, but that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi placed conditions before the negotiators at the last moment.

The talks, he said, had addressed ending terrorism in the province, but matters relating to it were then sidelined. He said terrorism-related points were agreed in the first phase, after which political issues were taken up. On the first day, he said, the interior minister laid out the government’s position on the KP government’s cooperation under the National Action Plan, including what he called its backtracking on commitments relating to the forces and budgets.

He said the narrative against terrorism belonged to all of Pakistan, not any one party. “We are fighting a war for Pakistan’s protection and security,” he said. The government wanted to give the opposition as much political space as possible, he said, but urged it not to “nurture terrorists”.

Drones and security forces

Chaudhry said the PTI’s opposition to drone use would leave the security forces looking weak, since militants themselves were using drones from Afghanistan against security camps and police stations. Warfare, internal security and even traffic control, he said, were now impossible without drones.

“Do you want our security forces to be rendered helpless, so that they cannot use the most effective weapons?” he asked.

Question of authority

He said the interior minister had phoned opposition leaders the night before the talks and asked them to bring a KP government representative, preferably the chief minister. At the first meeting, he said, they stated that the whole party, including the KP government, had authorised them to speak on its behalf.

Some of them then travelled to Peshawar, met the chief minister and senior leaders, and returned with fresh assurances on the terrorism points, which the interior minister later posted on X. The government was again told there was “100 per cent” agreement, he said.

PM’s message on political space

Chaudhry said the interior minister then met the prime minister in Lahore, who said as much political space as possible should be given to the opposition, provided it cooperated fully on terrorism. The prime minister cited the default crisis, when hard decisions had cost his party political capital but saved the country, he said.

Draft finalised, then reopened

The first draft covered all political matters, including the PTI founder’s health, meetings with him and the cases of other leaders, Chaudhry said. It was finalised at around 9pm, and the interior minister left to take it to the president. Changes were then made several times, with agreement each time, and the remaining differences over a few words were minor, he said.

At the end, he said, the opposition sat in a separate room, staying in contact with the chief minister. “When they came out, they could not meet our eyes,” he said, and asked leave to go.

“Every day the prime minister and the army chief shoulder the funerals of young men, some married a week earlier,” he said. “There is no greater victory for us than this.”

‘Is this your armed wing?’

Chaudhry asked why the PTI alone appeared safe from militant attacks, saying no PTI leader had been attacked by the TTP or other groups in 11 years. “Is this your armed wing?” he asked. He also said the PTI’s leader had drawn up National Action Plan 2 during its government, and asked why it now objected to it.

The government and opposition held a long round of talks that ended without agreement, with each side blaming the other. The PTI then began its long march from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chaudhry noted that exams in Peshawar had been postponed because of the march.