PTI dismisses PM Shehbaz’s ‘mere offer’ for talks, says govt can initiate contact with opposition leadership

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday dismissed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s proposal for renewed talks as a “mere offer”, while saying that the government could contact leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate for negotiations if it were sincere.

The statement came amid heightened political tensions in the country as the PTI’s long march reached Kohat. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is leading the convoy, which began its march towards Islamabad on Sunday to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan and press the government over what PTI describes as broader political and constitutional grievances. The convoy is currently in Kohat after travelling through Lakki Marwat and Karak, and is expected to depart for Peshawar later today as the party continues its phased mobilisation towards the federal capital.

PM Shehbaz earlier today renewed an offer of talks to the PTI, saying the government was prepared to engage with the opposition if the party ended its long march and sit-ins.

Speaking to the media outside Adiala jail after being denied permission for a meeting with Imran, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan dismissed PM Shehbaz’s offer.

“This proposal of dialogue and talks is only at the level of a mere offer and no positive steps are being taken for this purpose by the government,” the PTI chairman underlined.

Gohar said that the party had not been granted access for a meeting with Imran since almost a year. “It is a matter of grave concern for us that we have not been able to meet Imran Khan for a year, as our last meeting with him was on October 16 2025”.

Read: ‘End long march, sit-ins and we will talk’: PM Shehbaz once again extends olive branch to PT

Gohar questioned that if Imran’s doctors, family, party workers and his lawyers were not being allowed to meet him, then what steps was the government taking?

“This is inhumane treatment, and we have strongly condemned it.

“We have stood with the state and have raised the slogan of Pakistan with sincerity, but despite this, we have not been provided access to Imran,” he stated.

Gohar said that Imran and his wife were in jail and even Imran’s three sisters, who had nothing to do with politics, had been imprisoned, further enquiring as to why Imran’ sisters had been arrested and if so, why they had been put in jail.

“We consider it a crime for Imran’s sisters to spend even one day in jail. His sisters are apolitical and have only stood up for their brother.”

Gohar further condemned the arrest of Imran’s cousin, Qasim Zaman.

“Our MPAs, MNAs and ministers have been picked up, and this practice of picking people and detaining them should now stop forever”.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja stated that the government could contact Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, for further talks and negotiations.

Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, Raja underscored that the long march would continue until matters had been adequately “resolved”, further adding that a false narrative was being propagated that the long march had been cancelled.

“Imran has given complete authority to Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai to negotiate on his behalf and make an agreement, and if the government wants to show some flexibility and negotiate, it can contact them,” Raja stated.

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.