{"id":6987,"date":"2026-10-04T19:51:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6987"},"modified":"2026-10-04T19:51:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:51:18","slug":"pro-imran-khan-mass-rally-launched-after-pakistan-government-talks-fail-government-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6987","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Imran Khan mass rally launched after Pakistan government talks fail | Government News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Government warns of crackdown as supporters of jailed former prime set off from northwest Pakistan towards Islamabad.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have set off on a protest march from the country\u2019s northwest after talks with the government to call off the demonstration failed.<\/p>\n

More than 5,000 were reported to have begun the rally on Sunday. The march, planned by Khan\u2019s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed until October 4 to allow talks between the government and the PTI leadership to take place.<\/p>\n

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However, two rounds of talks over the weekend failed to break the deadlock, and the PTI decided to carry out its plan, which is the latest attempt to pressure the government into releasing Khan, the country\u2019s most popular political figure according to polls, who has been behind bars since August 2023 following a series of convictions that his party calls politically motivated.<\/p>\n

All but one of the convictions against the former PM have since been suspended or overturned on appeal.<\/p>\n

Videos posted on the PTI\u2019s official social media showed supporters joining the march in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which is ruled by the party, and setting off in convoys.<\/p>\n

Sohail Afridi<\/a>, the region\u2019s chief minister, had earlier posted on social media that the demonstration in support of Khan would go ahead.<\/p>\n

He said the march will make its way to Khairabad, 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Islamabad, by Thursday, where the plan for the \u201cnext phase\u201d will be announced.<\/p>\n

Government warns protesters<\/h2>\n

The government has been preparing for weeks<\/a> for the arrival of PTI demonstrators in Islamabad. It has erected barriers using shipping containers<\/a> to block main access routes to the capital.<\/p>\n

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed earlier on Sunday that the talks between the two sides had failed. \u00a0He accused Afridi of \u201csabotaging\u201d the negotiations, and added that the government would not allow the PTI to \u201ccreate a disturbance\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also cited an Islamabad High Court order from September 14, ruling that no political party or its leadership has the \u201clawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas and buildings in Islamabad\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they violate the orders, whether they are workers or politicians, whether they are protesting within KP or outside KP, we will pursue them one by one. This time, we want to ensure that these repeated episodes of creating disturbance in Islamabad come to an end,\u201d Naqvi said.<\/p>\n

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Traffic moves past shipping containers used to block a planned march by former Prime Minister Imran Khan\u2019s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, in Islamabad [File: Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Concerns about the 73-year-old Khan\u2019s health, in particular the condition of his right eye<\/a> that has required months of specialist treatment, have prompted the PTI\u2019s campaign for his release.<\/p>\n

The party has also called for the release of Khan\u2019s three sisters, whose arrests<\/a> last month further heightened tensions.<\/p>\n

James Dorsey, a fellow at the National University of Singapore, said Khan was \u201cessentially a populist leader\u201d with \u201ca genuine popular movement that had broad popular support\u201d.<\/p>\n

That is behind the \u201cdetermination by the government to prevent [the protesters] from entering Islamabad,\u201d he told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

Given Pakistan\u2019s security concerns, particularly following its unresolved February 2026 conflict with Afghanistan<\/a>, Islamabad wants to avoid escalation in the face of the protests, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a problem for the government, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an existential threat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Government warns of crackdown as supporters of jailed former prime set off from northwest Pakistan towards Islamabad. Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have set off on a protest march from the country\u2019s northwest after talks with the government to call off the demonstration failed. More than 5,000 were reported to have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t