PTI march on Islamabad begins after government talks collapse

Thousands of supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan began a long march toward Islamabad on Sunday after two rounds of talks between his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the government collapsed over the weekend, leaving both sides at an impasse.

More than 5,000 people were reported to have joined the rally as it set off in convoys from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which PTI governs. Organizers said the march would reach Khairabad — about 80 kilometres west of the capital — by Thursday, where the plan for the 'next phase' of the protest will be announced, according to Al Jazeera.

The march had originally been scheduled for September 27 but was postponed to allow negotiations to take place. When those talks failed to break the deadlock, PTI decided to proceed. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed Sunday that the negotiations had ended without agreement and accused KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of 'sabotaging' them.

If they violate the orders, whether they are workers or politicians, whether they are protesting within KP or outside KP, we will pursue them one by one. This time, we want to ensure that these repeated episodes of creating disturbance in Islamabad come to an end.— Mohsin Naqvi, Interior Minister

An Islamabad High Court order dated September 14, which Naqvi also invoked, holds that no political party or its leadership has the 'lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas and buildings in Islamabad.' Shipping containers have been deployed over several weeks by the government to form barriers sealing off the main routes into the capital.

Afridi, for his part, posted on social media that the demonstration would go ahead regardless. The protesters' core demands include Khan's release from prison amid health concerns, and the release of Khan's three sisters, who were arrested last month, a development that further heightened tensions.

Since August 2023, Khan, 73, has been imprisoned after a string of convictions that his party characterizes as politically motivated. All but one of those convictions have since been suspended or overturned on appeal, according to Al Jazeera. Concerns about his health — specifically the condition of his right eye, which has required months of specialist treatment — have been a driving force behind PTI's campaign.

Khan was ousted as prime minister via a no-confidence vote in 2022 after serving from 2018. Despite imprisonment, he remains, according to polls cited by Al Jazeera, Pakistan's most popular political figure. His party governs KP, giving it the organizational infrastructure to mobilize large convoys from the northwest.

It's a problem for the government, but I don't think it's an existential threat.— James Dorsey, Fellow, National University of Singapore

Speaking to AFP, Dorsey described Khan as 'essentially a populist leader' who had built 'a genuine popular movement that had broad popular support,' a factor he said accounted for the government's resolve to keep protesters out of Islamabad. Pakistan's security anxieties — rooted in particular in its unresolved February 2026 conflict with Afghanistan — left Islamabad eager to prevent any further escalation, he added.

Why it matters — The march puts Pakistan's government under direct street pressure at a moment of heightened security concerns, with a standoff between a mass popular movement and a state determined to keep protesters out of the capital.

Reported by reuters.com, thestatesman.com, aljazeera.com, asianews.it