Fawad Chaudhry Urges More Government-PTI Talks After Deadlock

ISLAMABAD, October 4, 2026: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has urged the government and PTI to continue negotiations after talks over the opposition party's planned march ended without a final agreement, arguing that progress already made should not be lost because of disputes over the remaining issues.

Fawad said reports that the two sides had agreed on more than 90 percent of the matters under discussion represented a significant political achievement. He called for further talks instead of allowing disagreements over security policy and the protest campaign to close the channel, according to ARY News.

His intervention came after government and opposition representatives held talks aimed at lowering tensions before PTI's October 4 long march. The negotiations failed to produce a settlement, and the march began from Lakki Marwat on Sunday with supporters demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.

National Action Plan Dispute

Fawad identified questions connected to the National Action Plan as particularly sensitive. He said the subject should be discussed directly with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his team so provincial leaders could be briefed on the cooperation sought from them and explain their own concerns.

The National Action Plan is Pakistan's broad counterterrorism framework. In the latest negotiations, the security debate centred on how the federal and provincial governments should respond to militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and what commitments the provincial administration should make.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said negotiators had reached agreement on most points before Afridi objected to the proposed draft. Afridi, however, published a separate seven-point document that called for a federal-provincial meeting within 72 hours to develop a coordinated strategy for peace and security.

That difference is more than procedural. The federal government has pressed the KP administration for clear commitments against militant groups and stronger implementation of counterterrorism measures. PTI leaders have argued that security decisions affecting the province require consultation and should not rely solely on military operations.

Fawad said questions involving public safety and human lives required detailed discussion rather than political point-scoring. His comments did not resolve the dispute, but they highlighted a possible path back to the table: preserve areas of agreement and hold a separate, more focused exchange on security responsibilities.

Talks Overshadowed by the March

The political dialogue covered issues extending beyond counterterrorism. PTI has sought regular contact between the government and opposition, access and legal protections for Khan and Bushra Bibi, quicker consideration of prisoners' cases and written assurances before it ends the march.

The government says the opposition negotiating team engaged seriously and helped prepare a workable draft. Government figures have blamed the KP chief minister for the final breakdown, while Afridi says PTI's demands were lawful and that the version he released had been sent to the party's negotiators.

The dispute has unfolded alongside restrictions, road closures and warnings from federal authorities that protesters will not be allowed to force their way into Islamabad. PTI says its campaign will remain peaceful and lawful.

Fawad served as information minister in Imran Khan's government but is no longer a PTI office-holder. His remarks therefore represent his own political assessment, not a formal negotiating position from either side.

Whether talks resume may depend on developments along the march route and on whether both sides can agree which draft reflects the progress made during negotiations. For now, Fawad's call keeps attention on the unusually large area of reported agreement and the possibility that a narrower dispute could still be separated from the wider political process.