Gohar, Raja say govt’s inflexibility caused breakdown; party keeps door to negotiations open
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja talking to media on the ‘illegal detention’ of Imran Khan’s sisters by the authorities on September 28, 2026. Photo: Express
SWAT/
ISLAMABAD:
PTI leaders Salman Akram Raja and Barrister Gohar Khan said on Monday that negotiations with the government had reached a deadlock because of the ruling side’s refusal to meet key party demands, particularly access to incarcerated founder Imran Khan and consultation on counter-terrorism policy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), but maintained that the door to dialogue remained open.
Addressing separate press conferences in Islamabad and Swat, the two leaders said the government still had time to revive the talks by allowing the PTI leadership and family members to meet Imran Khan.
They rejected the impression that the deadlock was linked to K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, saying the government had shown no flexibility during the negotiations.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Raja said the PTI had two major demands, one of which was access to its founder, adding that the party would not take any decision without consulting Imran Khan.
“There was no agreement to include Imran’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, in the panel of people allowed to meet him,” Raja said, adding that meetings between Imran, his family and doctors remained important, particularly amid concerns about his health.
“How could the negotiations have succeeded without them?” he asked.
The PTI secretary general said the issue of terrorism in K-P was the other central point of disagreement. He said the party wanted a consensus-based approach to counter-terrorism measures, with all relevant political and tribal stakeholders taken on board.
He referred to a peace jirga that brought together representatives of political parties and tribal elders to discuss the situation in former tribal areas, arguing that decisions affecting the region could not be taken from a distance.
He maintained that the government had not accepted the PTI demand for consultation with all stakeholders, despite discussions during the negotiations that decisions concerning the tribal areas would be taken through consensus.
Raja said the PTI wanted peace and order to be maintained in the country and had not closed the door to negotiations. The party, he added, would continue its political struggle for “love, respect, the rule of law and the Constitution, and peace”.
He recalled telling the government during the negotiations that he and his daughters would come out carrying flowers rather than weapons.
“We are not armed people. We still say that distances should not be created from closeness,” Raja said, adding that the two sides had come close to resolving their differences before “suddenly that closeness was turned into distance”.
In Swat, Gohar said the government still had an opportunity to restart the negotiations by facilitating a meeting between Imran and the PTI leadership. He warned that any attempt to impose governor’s rule or emergency in K-P would have serious repercussions for law and order across the country.
Gohar alleged that the federal government was attempting to paralyse the provincial administration despite the PTI securing more than 20 million votes. He claimed that police and administration were not extending the required cooperation to elected provincial representatives.
He further alleged that two provincial ministers, as well as members of the national and provincial assemblies, had been arrested or allegedly abducted, while the federal government was accusing the provincial administration of non-cooperation.
Gohar said the PTI’s provincial government was making efforts at its own level to combat terrorism, while accusing the federal government of failing to play its required role. He also claimed that K-P had not received even Rs10 from the Rs10 billion package announced by the government.
He clarified that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had no role in the deadlock in the negotiations and that the government had demonstrated no flexibility during the talks.
Gohar said the PTI’s announced long march towards Islamabad would remain peaceful and that workers would carry Pakistani flags. The party, he added, would continue its struggle through constitutional, democratic and political means.
He also criticised the government over the arrests of Imran’s sisters, saying that despite the difficulties faced by the party, the PTI remained prepared for negotiations and a political solution.
The government and PTI had begun negotiations on Friday in an attempt to defuse tensions over the party’s planned October 4 long march.
The government wanted the PTI to call off the march, while the opposition sought political consensus on its demands and maintained that the protest would proceed unless its concerns were addressed.
The two sides held a second round of talks on Saturday under National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. They initially agreed on a five-point framework covering legal facilities for Imran and his wife, early hearings of pending cases, and meetings with lawyers and family members.
According to a report, the talks subsequently stalled over counter-terrorism operations in K-P and access to Imran, ending without an agreement in the early hours of Sunday and paving the way for the PTI to proceed with the first phase of its long march.
