A joint delegation of the PPP and the government would hold a meeting with the PTI leadership on Friday, identical statements released by the PPP and the Presidency said.

The decision was taken after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.

The statement said “current political situation” in the country would be discussed with the opposition on Friday, adding that President Zardari and PM Shehbaz review the national security situation and stressed the need for effective cooperation between relevant institutions for peace and stability in the country.

The development comes as the PTI’s planned Oct 4 march to Islamabad remains a source of contention between the opposition party and the Centre.

A source told Dawn that possibility of imposing emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — where the PTI is in power — was also discussed at the huddle at the Presidency, but it was agreed that the government should first give the opposition “a chance to settle issues through dialogue and in a peaceful manner”.

However, it was also agreed that if the opposition did not abandon its plan for the march, the “government will seriously think about imposing emergency in the KP”.

PTI Chairperson Barrister Gohar Khan also confirmed that a meeting between opposition and government representatives would be held on Friday.

“PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan received a message from the government yesterday for a meeting, which he has accepted in light of the decisions made in today’s opposition meeting. God willing, a meeting will take place between the opposition and government delegations in the office of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq tomorrow at 12pm,” a post on Gohar’s X account said.

According to the PPP statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Adviser to the PM on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman and PPP MNAs Naveed Qamar and Aijaz Jakhrani would participate in the meeting.

From the opposition’s side, opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) spokesperson Akhundzada Yousafzai also confirmed his, as well as Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar’s participation.

However, National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and TTAP chairman has ruled out his participation at any meeting in the speaker’s chamber.

A senior TTAP leader further told Dawn that even Abbas was unwilling to visit the speaker’s chamber for the meeting but had agreed to participate at the PTI’s request.

The opposition alliance’s decision came after a meeting with PTI leaders in the Senate opposition leader’s chamber.

Discussion at the meeting covered the overall political situation in the country, PTI’s planned protest march and other constitutional and parliamentary matters, a statement by the TTAP said.

The possibility of a meeting between government and opposition representative is being seen as a means to defuse the current political crisis in the country, with the PTI’s planned Oct 4 protest march to demand Imran’s release becoming the new bone of contention between the party and the Centre.

As the PTI remains resolute to go ahead with the march, federal ministers have warned that the Centre would have no other option but to impose the governor’s rule or emergency in KP in light of the security situation in the province and the PTI’s protest call on Oct 4.

For its part, the opposition party has warned the government of dire consequences if such a decision is imposed.

The TTAP, which is headed by Achakzai and also includes the PTI, has announced that it would join the protest.

‘Anywhere but not at PM Office, speaker’s chamber’

After the TTAP-PTI meeting, Achakzai said he was not ready to hold parleys at the Prime Minister’s House or Office or the Speaker’s Chamber.

“The prime minister is illegitimate. The mandate of millions of Pakistanis … Harsh words are rising to my lips; that is why I am silent.

“I am ready to sit anywhere in Pakistan, under any tree. I am ready to visit the house of any party [leader]. But I will not go to the speaker house [sic], the Prime Minister’s House or the prime minister’s chamber,” he said while speaking to the media at Parliament House after the opposition leaders’ meeting, standing alongside Gohar.

Achakzai’s remarks were in response to a question about the prime minister’s adviser, Rana Sanaullah, inviting him and PTI Chairperson Barrister Gohar to hold a sitting with the premier. The reporter asked him why the meeting was not taking place.

In a video clip shared by the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), Achakzai also said the meeting with the prime minister would take place after a meeting with jailed former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan.

PM Shehbaz had extended an invitation to the NA opposition leader to sit together for consultations on the issues of national impor­tance and those related to the PTI before leaving for the US. Earlier, the premier also invited Achakzai on Sept 11 for mandatory consultation on the appointment of a new chief election commi­ssioner.

Gohar’s warning against imposition of emergency

For his part, Barrister Gohar told the media that PTI leaders had held a three-hour meeting with Abbas and Achakzai in which they had a detailed exchange of views on the problems facing the country and the current situation, particularly in KP and regarding the march preparations.

He condemned the “state oppression and tyranny” inflicted on the PTI and its supporters, as well as the detention and treatment of Imran’s sisters in jail.

The PTI chairman claimed that attempts were made to suppress his party “whenever we raise our voice for our rights and for justice in the country”.

Gohar also stressed that the party had “always stood with the state and the country”, including during the May 2025 conflict with India.

Gohar added that the leaders had also discussed reports regarding the potential imposition of emergency and warned: “The federation becomes strong when the provinces are strong and autonomous, and when the people’s mandate is respected. You will put the federation at risk if you take any action in a province that goes against the will of its people.”

He reiterated that the PTI’s march would remain peaceful, saying, “This is our country; for us, Pakistan comes first, the state of Pakistan and its peace and security.”

The PTI chairman stated that the way to avoid a long march was not by the imposition of governor’s rule or a state of emergency, but rather by talking to protesters, listening to the purpose for which they were out on the streets, and addressing their concerns.

“We went to the Supreme Court 19 times, but were not heard. We went to the high court 25 times but its orders were not implemented. A special committee was formed in Parliament, but a meeting was never called … Even today, the same concerns persist,” he said.

Gohar stressed that despite all this, the party was ready for negotiations and had made their demands clear before everyone.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja also stressed that protesting was a constitutional and legal right, and the party would not back down from their protest.

“The leader of the long march is Sohail Afridi; Imran Khan has appointed him. We will support him in every possible way,” he added.

‘Opposition ready for dialogue but without conditions’

Speaking to the media alongside Achakzai and Gohar after the meeting in his chamber, Senate Opposition Leader Abbas called for reconciliation and dialogue to resolve the country’s political crisis, saying his side was ready for talks, but without preconditions.

He also stressed that the PTI’s protest would be peaceful even when met with violence, and that “no false narrative” should be created against the protest.

“I have said before as well that when we leave from there, there will be no weapons in our hands,” he said. “We know the value of human life.”

Abbas called for a move towards reconciliation and dialogue in order to improve the country’s situation.

“We are fully prepared to hold dialogue and correct the situation, but this will be without any conditions. If anyone thinks that they will hold a dagger of conditions at our necks, then, such a thing will never be accepted,” he said.

Regarding the proposed protest, Abbas said the PTI had “decided to adopt a democratic approach by staging peaceful protests and a long march”.

He said the government should have “assured the protesters of the protection of their lives and property, provided them with facilities, and, while recognising the right to peaceful protest, designated the routes”.

“But, on the contrary, what did the government do? Even before the protests began, containers were placed to seal Islamabad, roads were dug up and nails were hammered into the routes,” he said, claiming that this was the behaviour of “scared people”.

Stressing that the Constitution guaranteed the rights of the Pakistani people, Abbas said peaceful protests, sit-ins and long marches were part of democratic politics.

The opposition leader also criticised the reported arrests of PTI members under the Maintenance of Public Order law, terming it a completely “illegal practice”.

On Imran, Abbas said, “The only personality who can take Pakistan out of the current crisis is Imran Khan, whom the people trust.”

“He will go to Balochistan, where Akhtar Mengal and other leaders will be with him. He will sit with the people and talk to them and convince them. What you cannot do through the force of bullets can be done through dialogue because the people trust him,” he added.

‘Off-the-record talks’

In the morning, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that the federal government and PTI had been engaged in “off-the-record talks” regarding PTI’s planned protest on Oct 4.

Sanaullah made the remarks while appearing in Geo News’ morning show “Geo Pakistan”.

Sanaullah said that the decision on the proposed march rested with PTI’s senior leadership, “with whom off-the-record consultation is ongoing”.

“So let us see, even if they do not postpone it, we have arrangements in place to stop them,” Sanaullah warned.

He likened the PTI’s march to a “provincial government attacking the capital” in an apparent reference to the PTI-led government in KP.

“If a political party or a private organisation stages a protest, […] but for a government to attack […] it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” he held.

“The law will be enacted in full force, and they (PTI) will be barred from entering Islamabad,” he added.

Responding to a question about governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah on Thursday said that the option was “on the table”.

Sanaullah further clarified that the federal government was in talks with coalition parties about imposing governor’s rule in KP. He added that the final decision rested upon the federal government and the Senate, adding that it would only come into effect with parliament’s approval.

Sanaullah alleged that the KP chief minister had not been performing his functions as the province’s chief executive.

“For the past two months, he has not done anything, nothing about development or counter-terrorism efforts or for the welfare of people […] in fact, all he has done is talk about marching to Islamabad and toppling the federal government.

“They want to take ladders to Islamabad to secure the release of a certain someone,” he added.

Sanaullah reiterated that if a province is “engaged in such illegal and unconstitutional activities, then the Centre has the right to declare emergency or governor rule and assume power”.

Additional reporting by Ikram Junaidi and Irfan Raza