ISLAMABAD: The political deadlock between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) deepened on Monday as the opposition party renewed its offer of negotiations but refused to abandon its October 4 march on Islamabad.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja rejected reports that the party had postponed its protest because of “backchannel contacts”, saying the decision was taken to give the government more time to reconsider its position.
The government, he added, had so far given no indication that it was willing to hold talks.
The PTI had originally scheduled its long march for September 27 but later postponed it to October 4. The party is demanding the release of its jailed party founding chairman, Imran Khan, and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.
The government has publicly opposed road blockades and disruption of routine life and had put extraordinary security measures in place ahead of the original protest date.
Raja said the latest wave of terrorism made dialogue between political forces necessary, urging all sides to sit together and resolve their differences.
He added that even if contacts had taken place, they did not necessarily have to be made public immediately.
PTI sources said contacts between party leaders and the authorities were continuing, but the stalemate remained.
According to the sources, the authorities and two senior government ministers had repeatedly urged the PTI to call off the march first, after which negotiations could begin.
The PTI leadership, they said, had refused to accept that arrangement.
The sources further claimed that the government had hinted at possible relief in the cases against Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan’s wife, including the possibility of her transfer to Bani Gala through court relief if the march were called off.
The PTI, however, was said to be unwilling to rely on assurances, insisting that immediate relief would be required before it abandoned its protest plans.
The opposing positions have left little room for compromise, with the government seeking the withdrawal of the protest as a condition for talks and the PTI demanding tangible relief first.
Meanwhile, the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) endorsed the PTI’s October 4 protest call, announcing that the opposition alliance would participate alongside its allied parties.
A TTAP spokesman said the PTI was part of the opposition alliance and that the alliance would fully support the call.
The alliance also stressed the need to broaden its agenda to include issues it says affect the entire country.
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, the PTI-backed opposition leader in Senate, said the TTAP would fully support the PTI’s long march on Islamabad, arguing that Imran Khan had been denied his basic and fundamental rights for nearly a year.
He said the former prime minister had not been allowed to meet his family or lawyers, while his sisters had also recently been jailed, describing the situation as unacceptable.
“We will fully support the PTI long march,” he declared.
He said the opposition had previously proposed turning its political narrative into a national agenda, including provincial rights and issues concerning Balochistan and Sindh.
He said the concerns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the country’s economic and political affairs, should also be included.
Abbas claimed Punjab currently had more political prisoners than at any previous point in Pakistan’s political history.
He said the opposition needed to speak collectively on these issues and expressed confidence that wider public support would follow.
“Whether today or tomorrow, ultimately, we will have to move in this direction,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026