Imran Khan's PTI launches Islamabad march after government talks collapse

Talks between the Pakistani government and Imran Khan’s party have broken down, triggering a mass protest march towards Islamabad after ministers refused to grant immediate medical access to the jailed former prime minister.

The collapse of the negotiations in the early hours of Sunday has set the stage for a tense political standoff. The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had initially postponed its plans to march on the capital last month, but is now mobilizing supporters from its provincial stronghold.

Why the peace talks failed

Negotiators from both sides met at 4 pm on Saturday, talking through the night before giving up. The sticking point was simple: trust.

The PTI demanded immediate access to the 73-year-old Khan, who has been held in Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala Jail since his 2023 corruption conviction. They wanted his personal doctor to examine him, a medical evaluation for his wife, Bushra Bibi, and the release of his sisters and other detained supporters.

But the government refused to budge, demanding the PTI call off its protest before anyone would be allowed to see Khan. The opposition rejected the condition outright, refusing to surrender their leverage.

"We endeavoured to reach a conclusion, but the deadlock persists," said Senator Allama Nasir Abbas, the opposition leader in the Senate. He added that the impasse specifically boiled down to securing access for Khan’s personal physician.

A dispute over security

It was not just Khan’s welfare that divided the room. The talks also foundered on a deeper political rift over security in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is governed by the PTI and serves as the launchpad for the march.

The federal Minister of State for Interior, Tallal Chaudhry, blamed the collapse on the provincial administration. He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government refused to guarantee it would cooperate with Islamabad in fighting terrorism.

Sherry Rehman, a Pakistan Peoples Party leader who sat in on the talks, expressed frustration at the moving goalposts, telling Geo News that the draft agreement was rewritten four times after they had seemingly reached a consensus.

How the march will reach Islamabad

With negotiations dead, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced that the march would begin immediately.

The route is designed to gather momentum over several days. Convoys started joining at Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, heading for an overnight stop near Karak. From there, the caravan will move through Kohat and Peshawar on Monday and Tuesday, swelling in size as supporters from surrounding districts join.

By Tuesday night, the crowd plans to gather near the Charsadda Interchange before assembling at Khairabad, where the final push toward Islamabad will be announced.

The federal government is preparing for a physical showdown. Authorities have already started blocking key roads into the capital with heavy shipping containers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s political adviser, Rana Sanaullah, made the administration’s position clear: "No one would be allowed to enter Islamabad."