Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) invited the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for talks to resolve contentious issues through dialogue, as he urged the party founded by jailed former premier Imran Khan to call off its long march to Islamabad.
Earlier, the second round of talks between the two sides began on Saturday (October 3, 2026) afternoon and continued through the ensuing night. However, it was announced early on Sunday (October 4, 2026) morning that the talks collapsed on the issue of access to Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023.
Sharif issued the call for talks two days after the PTI launched its long march from Lakki Marwat town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the intention to make it to the national capital in the coming days to give a sit-in to press the government to set Khan free. Mr. Khan’s party held talks for two consecutive days with the representatives of the government and its ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of President Asif Ali Zardari, to find a peaceful solution to political differences. “Unfortunately, that did not happen. They (PTI) only had one purpose: to ensure that the talks do not succeed,” Mr.
Addressing a gathering in Islamabad, the Prime Minister said that unfortunately the “dreadful shadows” of long marches were moving again despite efforts to resolve the political issues through negotiations. Sharif said, adding that the opposition party demanded changes to things already settled upon during the talks. Khan’s party demanded a meeting with him in jail before calling off the protest, while the government insisted on wrapping up the protest before any meeting, according to informed sources. Sources said the backdoor channels have been working to sort out the differences as both sides want to avoid a confrontation between the people and security agencies.
