End the March and We Will Talk: Shehbaz Offers PTI Conditional Dialogue as Governor Draws Line at Attock

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a fresh round of dialogue, but only if the party first ends its ongoing long march toward Islamabad.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in the federal capital on Tuesday, the prime minister said the ruling coalition had collectively decided to engage the opposition party — yet he made the offer explicitly conditional. “I urge you to come to your senses, end the long march and sit-in, and then we will sit with you,” he said, according to a report by The News.

The prime minister warned that the return of protest politics posed a direct threat to Pakistan’s economy. He said road closures and sit-ins could disrupt exports, imports and manufacturing at a time when the country was finally on a path of economic stability. “If workers and engineers do not reach factories and offices on time, the loss will be Pakistan’s,” he said, according to Sabah News. He pointed to improvements in exports, IT exports and remittances in September as evidence that two and a half years of government policy had begun to yield results, and cautioned that renewed disruption could undo that progress. He also said the law would take its course to protect the lives and property of citizens, Sabah reported.

His remarks came as the PTI convoy, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, pressed on through the province. After launching from Lakki Marwat on October 4, the march reached Kohat on Monday and camped overnight near Mattani, and was expected to move toward Peshawar and Khyber on Tuesday, Dawn reported. The party plans to gather all its caravans at Khairabad, near the Punjab border, by October 8, where Afridi is expected to announce the strategy for the next phase.

The PTI has swiftly rejected the conditional offer. Party Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, speaking to reporters in Rawalpindi, described the prime minister’s remarks as “merely symbolic”, saying the government had taken no concrete steps toward genuine political engagement, The News reported. He said PTI leaders had been prevented from meeting the party’s jailed founder, Imran Khan, for nearly a year — with the last meeting having taken place in October last year — despite the party’s repeated requests. He also claimed that Imran Khan’s cousin, Qasim Zaman, who he described as non-political, had been detained when he arrived at Adiala jail on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the government has drawn a physical line as well as a political one. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, speaking on Geo News, warned that the PTI march would not be allowed to proceed beyond Attock in Punjab under any circumstances. “They cannot go any further than Attock,” he said, challenging the party’s claim of mobilising two million people and questioning whether the march had enough participants to sustain itself, according to reports citing Geo News. The governor said enforcing governor’s rule in KP remained an option if the president and the prime minister decided to impose it. He accused the PTI-led provincial government of neglecting the province’s worsening security situation in favour of marching on the capital, and alleged that jailed PTI founder Imran Khan had allowed militants to settle in KP during his tenure — claims the PTI has consistently rejected.

The latest exchange follows the collapse of three rounds of negotiations between the government, a PPP delegation and the PTI at the National Assembly Speaker’s chamber over the weekend. The talks broke down over access to Imran Khan and the inclusion of his personal doctors on a medical board, as well as disagreements over counterterrorism cooperation between the federal and KP governments. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared the talks had collapsed and accused Afridi of sabotaging them, a charge the PTI denies.

With the convoy gathering strength ahead of the October 8 deadline at Khairabad and the government fortifying entry points into Islamabad and Punjab, Pakistan appears headed for a decisive confrontation in the coming days.

Analysis: Why It Matters

The prime minister’s conditional offer is less a concession than a test — and both sides know it. By insisting the march end before talks begin, the government is asking PTI to surrender its only leverage in exchange for a promise of dialogue. The PTI’s dismissal of the offer as “merely symbolic” reflects a hard lesson learned from earlier failed negotiations: the party believes dialogue without its street pressure produces little more than photo opportunities.

Economically, the warning carries genuine weight. Pakistan’s exports, remittances and IT services have shown measurable improvement in recent months, and prolonged disruption in the capital region would hit exactly the manufacturing and logistics chains those gains depend on. But the economic argument cuts both ways: a forceful crackdown that turns violent could damage investor confidence far more than a peaceful march would.

The most consequential development may be the Attock line. By declaring that the convoy cannot cross into Punjab, the government has chosen a specific geographic flashpoint rather than a general prohibition. Attock Bridge and the Khairabad corridor now become the stage where the standoff will be decided — physically, legally and symbolically. The mention of governor’s rule, even as a last resort, signals that Islamabad is prepared to escalate beyond roadblocks if the march pushes through.

Three things to watch next: whether the government follows its conditional offer with written guarantees, which PTI has repeatedly demanded; how the October 8 Khairabad gathering unfolds and what Afridi announces there; and whether the Peshawar High Court or the Islamabad High Court issues orders that constrain either side before the confrontation reaches the Punjab border.

Sources

• The News — PM Shehbaz renews talks offer to PTI, urges end to Islamabad march
• The News — Govt yet to take ‘concrete steps’ towards political engagement, says PTI
• Abb Takk News — PM Shehbaz offers talks to PTI if Islamabad march is called off
• Sabah News — PM Shehbaz calls on the PTI to call off its long march