PTI long march under way from Lakki Marwat as government rules out entry into Islamabad

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s long march towards Islamabad began on Sunday from Lakki Marwat, hours after government-opposition talks aimed at averting the protest ended without agreement, Geo News reported.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah warned on Sunday that “the long march will not be allowed to enter the limits of Islamabad”, adding that any attempt to create disorder would be stopped “using the force of law”.

The two sides remained divided over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s refusal to assure cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Sanaullah said the draft agreement had been amended two or three times, but the provincial government was still unwilling to play its role in counterterrorism operations and cooperate with the federal government’s policy. “The refusal to cooperate against terrorism is not acceptable in any way. That is why an agreement could not be reached,” he said. “There can be no retreat from the war against terrorism.”

The adviser described the PTI’s demands for a meeting between Imran Khan and his personal doctors as minor issues, saying they were already being handled in accordance with the law and jail rules. “If you do not use the meetings for political purposes, we will not create any hurdle,” he said.

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced the march on X, saying its first phase would begin from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at 1pm on Sunday with participants from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat. The convoy will camp near Karak on Sunday night, move through Kohat, Peshawar and Charsadda over the coming days, and gather at Khairabad on October 8, where the party will announce its further course of action.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the long march remained intact and would go ahead, while the government left the door open to resuming talks if the KP government agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. No time has been set for another round of negotiations.

The talks, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and attended by both government ministers and PTI leaders, continued past Saturday midnight before the delegations left after 2am on Sunday. The protest, originally planned for September 27, had been postponed to October 4.