Live updates: PTI’s Islamabad long march

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja claimed on Sunday that the primary reason for the failure of overnight talks was the federal government's insistence that all anti-terrorism actions it unilaterally initiated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must be owned by the provincial government.

In a statement posted on X, Raja said the PTI-TTAP team had stood firm on its principled position that anti-terrorism actions in KP would be based on agreement between the federal and KP governments and framed on the basis of consultation with, and the buy-in of, all political parties represented in the KP assembly.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has begun its long march towards Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat after talks with the federal government failed to break the deadlock.

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi set off from Lakki Marwat’s Gandi Chowk, saying he would announce his next course of action on Thursday, October 8, when the party’s convoy reaches Khairabad. The caravan has camped in Karak tonight, he announced later.

Government-opposition negotiations aimed at averting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) October 4 long march on Islamabad collapsed at around 3am on Sunday after four rounds of drafting failed to bridge fundamental differences over counterterrorism cooperation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and access to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.

Read more

The deployment of Rangers personnel in parts of Punjab and the federal capital has been extended ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) planned long march, sources said.

The deployment has been extended until October 15, 2026, sources said. The previous deployment was scheduled to remain in place until October 5, 2026.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of attempting to sabotage negotiations between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the federal government.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the security czar said that 99% of the points in the agreement had been agreed upon during the negotiations.

"The agreement had been prepared," Naqvi said, adding that he took a copy of the agreement to President Zardari.

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday announced the start of the PTI's long march towards Islamabad.

In a post on X, Afridi said the first phase of the march would begin from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at 1pm on Sunday, with participants from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat joining the convoy.