PTI Long March October 4: Government Opens Talks With Opposition

Islamabad – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – Talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) began on Friday at the National Assembly speaker’s chamber in Islamabad. The meeting comes just days before the PTI long march October 4, which the party plans to hold towards the capital.

Six leaders are sitting on the PTI side. They are Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar and Haleem Adil Sheikh.

The government team is led by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry are also present. Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan Peoples Party joined them as well.

Naqvi opened the session with a briefing on the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PTI had to change its delegation before the meeting. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the chief of Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan, said he would not attend at the speaker’s chamber. He asked for a neutral venue instead.

Sources say the PTI leadership did not accept this demand. The party formed a new six-member team and moved ahead with the talks.

Gohar said the party’s political and core committees had approved the names. He added that the opposition would send only six members to the table.

The meeting took place a day after Gohar said the party had accepted the government’s offer for dialogue. He said the government’s message reached the party on Wednesday. PTI replied after an opposition leaders’ meeting held the same day.

The party had earlier shifted its march from September 27 to October 4. PTI says the protest is meant to seek the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan, and the restoration of constitutional supremacy.

Before the meeting, Rana Sanaullah spoke to reporters at Parliament House. He urged the party to withdraw its march call while talks are on.

He said long marches and disorder are not a solution to any problem. In his view, matters that are before the courts must be decided by the courts.

Sanaullah said issues that can be settled by talking should be brought to the negotiating table. He also questioned the opposition’s stand on the venue. “You can sit by the roadside under a tree and talk,” he said, but a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office was not possible.

He warned that such statements hurt political tolerance and weaken communication between parties.

Sanaullah also spoke about the PTI founder, who is held at Adiala jail. He said Imran Khan was shifted to a hospital, where a panel of senior doctors examined him.

According to him, the purpose was a medical check-up. He said the former prime minister was taken to another hospital, even if it was not a private one.

He added that if the court gives further clear directions, the government will have to follow them.

All eyes are now on the outcome of these talks. If both sides find common ground, tension may ease before the march date. If not, the PTI long march October 4 could bring a tough few days for the capital.

For now, the fact that both camps are sitting together is being seen as a small but important step.