Islamabad, September 28, 2026: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again offered negotiations to the government while rejecting reports that its decision to postpone its long march was the result of backchannel contacts.
In a statement on Monday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party had postponed its march to give the government more time to reconsider its decisions.
He said, however, that the government had so far given no indication that it was prepared to enter into negotiations with PTI.
The remarks came days after PTI announced that its long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for September 27, had been postponed until October 4.
PTI had been preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, demanding the release of party founder Imran Khan and what it described as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.
The government has publicly opposed road blockades and disruption of routine life, while heightened security measures were introduced ahead of the originally scheduled September 27 mobilisation.
Raja said the latest wave of terrorism required all sides to sit together and engage in dialogue.
He added that if any contacts had taken place, it was not necessary for them to be made public immediately.
Meanwhile, sources claimed that more than half a dozen backchannel meetings had taken place between PTI and authorities over the previous four to five weeks but had failed to resolve the deadlock over the proposed march.
According to the sources, the contacts explored a possible political solution to the confrontation, with the central issue being whether PTI would call off, rather than merely postpone, its planned mobilisation.
The sources claimed that the government and security establishment had conveyed that political space could be created for PTI, but that political activity involving agitation, violence, road blockades and marches would not be acceptable.
