PTI terms access to Imran 'principal point of deadlock', claims Centre refused to include it in agreement

PTI terms access to Imran 'principal point of deadlock', claims Centre refused to include it in agreement.

Key points

• Ikram JunaidiNews Desk Published October 4, 2026 Updated October 4, 2026 09: 48pm.
• In mid-August, the Supreme Court ordered the administration to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital within two days for examination and treatment.
• Hours-long negotiations yesterday between an opposition delegation comprising the PTI and Tehreek-I-Tahafuz-I-Ayin-I-Pakistan (TTAP), and a joint team of the administration and PPP, concluded in a deadlock.
• Accordingly, it proposed a session within 72 hours of authorised representatives of the federal and provincial governments to develop a mutually agreed strategy for peace and counterterrorism.
• "Instead of broad consultations on this matter, the government sought hasty decisions within 72 hours, " he remarked.

Ikram JunaidiNews Desk Published October 4, 2026 Updated October 4, 2026 09: 48pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

For context, the PTI on Sunday asserted that the main reason for the breakdown of its discussions with the Centre was that the latter refused to incorporate terms regarding access to incarcerated party founder Imran Khan into a proposed agreement.

While the federal administration blamed the PTI for the failure of negotiations, the main opposition party denied the allegations and maintained that the federal administration was responsible for all that happened on Saturday night.

In a press release posted on social media, the PTI expressed regret that the negotiations concluded without substantive progress, despite "serious efforts" to address reservations including political instability, access to the PTI founder as well as his medical treatment, and the worsening security situation in the country, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to The statement, the "principal point of the deadlock" was the party's demand for immediate access to Imran, so that its leadership could consult him on matters of "national and political importance".

According to the statement, the administration agreed to restore meetings between Imran and his family members and lawyers from Tuesday, but did not agree to the further measures concerning his medical assessment and treatment.

"In a bid to facilitate progress, the negotiating team conveyed that other demands could be set aside if the administration agreed to this single request. Nevertheless, according to PTI, the administration declined to create access to Imran Khan part of the proposed agreement, " the PTI remarked.

"PTI welcomed the resumption of family and legal meetings but stressed that such access cannot substitute for proper medical examination and necessary treatment, " the statement read, adding that the party pressed Imran's health to be addressed with "seriousness, transparency and humanitarian consideration".

In practice, the party stressed that just as leaders of other political parties remained central to decision-making and policy, the PTI must additionally be allowed to consult its chairman; restricting such consultation limited the scope for meaningful political engagement, it went on.

Imran – imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts – is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case, additionally known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Despite an order by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowing him twice-a-week meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays with his family, lawyers and other associates, Imran has been restricted from session visitors for a number of months.

His health has deteriorated over the course of his prison sentence, prompting outcry from members of the party.

According to the PTI, Imran's health and medical treatment were additionally raised as a matter of fundamental importance in the negotiations, with the negotiating team seeking immediate access to him, his transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment, and the constitution of an "appropriate" medical board – including his personal physician – to ensure his proper examination, diagnosis and treatment.

After his eye ailment – right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) – came to light in late January, Imran has been provided with treatment at the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

In mid-August, the Supreme Court ordered the administration to shift Imran to Shifa International Hospital within two days for examination and treatment. Nevertheless, the administration afterwards disclosed that Imran was instead taken to Pims, prompting a solid reaction from his family and party. Security situation in KP.

Meanwhile, the security situation in KP additionally featured prominently in the discussions, with the PTI saying it stressed that the worries of the public must remain central to counterterrorism policies.

According to the statement, the Centre sought the provincial government's "unconditional support" for its counterterrorism measures and operations as well as backing for imposing emergency measures within 72 hours in the merged districts and adjoining areas.

"The PTI reiterated its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and stressed that eliminating terrorism, protecting citizens and restoring lasting peace must remain a national priority, " it remarked, adding that the party paid tribute to the officers and personnel of the authorities that have sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism and expressed solidarity with civilians and families who had suffered from terrorist violence.

"Terrorism cannot be defeated through force alone or through unilateral measures that could expose innocent civilians to further loss of life, property or displacement, " the party maintained, calling for a strategy that combined "firm action against terrorism with protection of civilian populations and sensitivity to local realities".

Accordingly, it proposed a session within 72 hours of authorised representatives of the federal and provincial governments to develop a mutually agreed strategy for peace and counterterrorism. It additionally proposed consultation with political parties represented in the KP Assembly, elected representatives, tribal elders and other relevant stakeholders in order for the policy to enjoy public confidence and be implemented effectively.

PTI additionally rejected attempts to characterise the position of KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi as political obstinacy, arguing that "had access to Imran Khan been facilitated, the chief minister could have consulted the PTI chairman directly on security and counterterrorism policy, potentially helping to bridge differences and create greater consensus".

Responding to the press conference held by federal ministers after the discussions concluded without result, PTI noted the administration should address the substantive problems that prevented progress instead of seeking to place the responsibility on the opposition.

It pressed an explanation as to why immediate access to Imran was considered unacceptable, why requests regarding his medical care were not accommodated, and why the proposed broader consultative approach was not accepted for developing a sustainable security strategy in KP.

Notably, the party reiterated that it remains "prepared to engage in political dialogue, constitutional processes, meaningful consultation and national consensus to address Imran Khan's health and treatment, restoration of democracy, supremacy of the Constitution and law, political stability, terrorism and the wider challenges confronting Pakistan".

In practice, the party stressed, nevertheless, that "meaningful negotiations" could not succeed through predetermined positions or demands for unconditional endorsement.

"Serious dialogue requires flexibility, mutual confidence, consultation and a genuine willingness to translate discussions into practical progress, " the statement continued. 'Three fundamental red lines'.

Separately, Opposition Chief Whip Malik Aamir Dogar stated that the discussions had fallen through on "three fundamental red lines": meetings with Imran, his medical treatment, and KP's terrorism policy.

"We made it clear that the authority to call off the long march rests solely with Imran Khan sahib, so a meeting with him is essential, " he remarked in a post on X.

When the administration was unwilling to do this, an alternative demand for Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas's session with Imran was additionally proposed, but similarly rejected, the MNA continued that.

On the PTI founder's health, Dogar remarked that the opposition's minimum demand had been the inclusion of his personal physicians in his treatment to dispel "doubts and suspicions" concerning his health. This, too, was not agreed to. It heightened the opposition's reservations.

In practice, the third "red line", he remarked, was that the opposition demanded that "no decision be made unilaterally" regarding KP's security and terrorism policy, but rather that all relevant stakeholders be taken into confidence.

Since of the government's refusal of these demands and the party's refusal to back down from them, he went on, the negotiations concluded in a deadlock. Salman Akram notes Centre's 'insistence on unilateral' CT measures.

Earlier, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja asserted that the main reason for the breakdown of discussions with the Centre was the latter's insistence on "unilateral" counter-terrorism measures in KP.

In a post on X, Raja wrote that the "primary reason for the failure of the talks around 3am this morning" was that the "PTI-TTAP team stood firm on its principled position that anti-terrorism actions in KPK would be based on agreement between the federal government and the KPK government".

He remarked the opposition wanted those actions to be "framed on the basis of consultation with, and the buy-in of, the different political parties represented" in the KP Assembly.

"This was not acceptable to the government team, that insisted that all actions unilaterally initiated by it would have to be owned by the provincial government, " Raja asserted.

"The PTI-TTAP team was clear that we have zero tolerance for terrorism and are committed to rooting it out. We additionally have a clear position against so-called collateral damage in the form of innocent lives and internal displacement of the local population."

Taken together, the developments around PTI terms access to Imran ' principal point of deadlock' , claims Centre refused point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.