In Islamabad on Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI) chairman Gohar Ali Khan dismissed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation for talks as merely symbolic, saying the government had taken no substantive step beyond extending the offer. Local media reported the comment during a press conference in Rawalpindi.
Khan also noted that PTI leaders had not been allowed to meet party founder Imran Khan for a year, with their last meeting taking place in October of the previous year. He said the offer to hold talks was made only after Sharif demanded that PTI end its long march toward Islamabad, warning that prolonged sit‑ins and protests would hurt the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi urged PTI supporters to join the march as the convoy reached Kohat. Afridi thanked the city’s residents for a “magnificent welcome” and said the march would resume its journey toward Peshawar from University Chowk. He described himself as a “soldier of Imran Khan” and reiterated that the province belonged to the opposition party.
The talks chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq ended on Saturday without any resolution. The federal government wanted PTI to cancel the march, while the opposition demanded assurances that they could meet Imran Khan. After the failed negotiations, PTI leaders announced that the march would continue as planned.
