PTI Accepts Government Talks Ahead of October 4 Long March

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accepted an invitation to hold talks with the federal government on October 2 at 12 p.m. in the office of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The meeting follows a decision by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to send a joint government-Pakistan Peoples Party delegation, including Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Adviser Rana Sanaullah, to negotiate with the opposition.

Despite the agreement to talk, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan refused to withdraw the party's planned long march to Islamabad scheduled for October 4. The PTI is demanding the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan, the restoration of constitutional supremacy, and proper medical treatment for Khan. To support the event, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced a fundraising campaign starting Friday at the PTI provincial secretariat.

The federal government has delayed imposing emergency or governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to give the PTI a final opportunity to cancel the march. However, officials warned that measures are prepared to block participants from entering the capital if the protest proceeds. While the PTI welcomed the dialogue, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan warned against federal intervention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a move Chief Minister Afridi also vowed to resist. Separately, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai expressed willingness to meet the prime minister but refused to visit official government offices.