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, MON., OCT. 5, 2026No. 1 · Morning, 6:00 a.m. PKT6 a.m. PKT
KSE-100168,155.49▼0.29%10/2USD/PKR277.07▼0.01%10/2S&P 5007,722.72▲0.73%10/2WTI$91.11▼1.90%10/2Gold$4,162.30▼1.00%10/2
Politics · PTI long marchPress ✓ 5 outlets · government and PTI accounts attributed

Talks collapse on Sunday morning and PTI sets off for Islamabad from Lakki Marwat; Afridi to announce next step on Thursday

After three rounds of talks with a government–PPP delegation failed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi launched the march for Imran Khan’s release. Federal ministers warn against any gathering in the capital.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) began its long march on Sunday 4 October after talks with a government and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) delegation broke down, according to Geo News, Dawn and ARY News. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the talks had “collapsed” and blamed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister for sabotaging them. PTI’s Salman Akram Raja gave a different reason: that Islamabad insisted the provincial government own all counter-terrorism operations the Centre had started on its own in the province.

Afridi flagged off the first phase from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at about 1pm, with supporters from Tank, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and the Waziristan districts joining, and the convoy then entered Karak, Dawn reported. The stated aim is the release of Imran Khan, the jailed party founder. The route runs through Kohat, Peshawar and Charsadda, and Afridi said he would announce his next course of action on Thursday 8 October, when the convoy reaches Khairabad. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said it would be hard for PTI to march on Islamabad in current conditions; no government order against the march had been published by early Monday.

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In numbers
3rounds of government–PTI talks before they broke down on Sunday
8 OctThursday: Afridi’s next announcement, at Khairabad
1pmSunday start of the first phase at Lakki Marwat
World · Energy and IranPress ✓ 4 outlets · conditions as stated by Ghalibaf

Hormuz stays shut until Iran’s seven conditions are met, and OPEC+ leaves November output unchanged

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on 4 October that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven conditions based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding are met, according to Khaleej Times, Gulf News and the Oman Observer. Reports list the lifting of the US naval blockade, the unfreezing of assets and an end to military pressure; not all seven were made public. The strait has been effectively closed since the US–Iran fighting began on 28 February, per The National.

The same day the seven core OPEC+ members agreed to hold required production for November at the September 2026 level, a joint 31 million barrels a day, though most are pumping below target because of the war. The next meeting is on 1 November. For Pakistan, which mediated the Islamabad MoU and imports nearly all its oil, the two headlines point to fuel prices staying high.

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Word of the day
Islamabad MoU · diplomacy

The June memorandum, mediated by Pakistan, under which the US and Iran agreed to stop fighting and reopen Hormuz. Iran now says it must be fully implemented first.

Economy · InflationPress ✓ 2 outlets · figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

Inflation eases to 10.26% in September but stays in double digits as fuel and power bite

Headline consumer price index (CPI) inflation slowed to 10.26% in September from 11.15% in August, according to figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported by ProPakistani. A Bloomberg survey had expected 10.2%. Core inflation, which leaves out food and energy, eased to about 8.6% from 8.8%, but remains well above the 7.0% of a year earlier.

Energy is the pressure point: IANS reported petrol costing 39% more and electricity 33% more than a year ago, while food inflation cooled to around 8% in cities. The July–September average is 10.20%, against 4.30% in the same quarter last year. The State Bank of Pakistan raised its policy rate in April citing volatile oil prices, and officials expect pressure until December.

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World · United StatesPress ✓ 5 outlets · figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

US employers add only 29,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rises to 4.2%

US nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000 in September, well short of forecasts of 84,000 to 90,000, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday 2 October. July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000, with July now a loss of 10,000. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% on the month and 3.0% on the year, according to UPI, FT Portfolios and CREDaily.

Economists quoted in the coverage said the figures make an interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve this month less likely. For Pakistan the link is indirect: a softer Fed path eases pressure on emerging-market currencies and on the cost of dollar debt, and it affects the dollar remittances sent home by workers in the United States.

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Markets · KarachiKSE-100 figures from ARY News only · rupee per Business Recorder

KSE-100 slips 481 points to 168,155 on Friday as decliners outnumber gainers 321 to 128

The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday 2 October, with the KSE-100 index down 481.36 points, or 0.29%, at 168,155.49, ARY News reported. It opened at 168,636.85 and traded between 167,685 and 168,854. Of 494 companies in the ready market, 128 advanced, 321 fell and 45 were unchanged; about 494 million shares changed hands. Market capitalisation was near Rs18.7 trillion. The index had ended September at 169,969.32, Business Recorder showed.

In the interbank market the rupee closed at 277.07 to the dollar, a gain of 3 paisa, Business Recorder reported, leaving it almost unchanged for the week. The two overseas anchors for local traders are the oil price, with WTI at $91.11 after a 1.9% fall, and gold at $4,162.3 an ounce. Traders will also be watching Karachi’s reaction to the weekend’s political breakdown.

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In brief
  • KSE-100 ended September 2026 at 169,969.32 before Friday’s 0.29% fallBusiness Recorder, ARY News
  • Interbank rupee closed at 277.07 on Friday; open market buying and selling rates were near 277.5 and 278.1Business Recorder, APP
  • S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,722.72, up 0.73%; WTI crude $91.11 (−1.90%); gold $4,162.3 (−1.00%)Market closing data
  • A constable who drowned on security duty in Attock linked to the PTI march was found after eight days in the Ghazi Barotha canalDawn
  • Dawn also reported a blast in Panjgur that killed two children and five bullet-riddled bodies found in Khuzdar and SurabDawn
  • OPEC+ core members next meet on 1 NovemberThe National (AFP)
  • US average hourly earnings rose 3.0% on the year in SeptemberFT Portfolios, UPI
  • Rain forecast promises relief from smog in Punjab’s plains this weekThe Express Tribune
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Unverified — what we cannot confirm

“Governor’s rule will be imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this week.” Federal ministers floated it and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the Centre was ready for an emergency, but the PPP wants a political solution and no order has been issued (Dawn, Arab News Pakistan, The Express Tribune).
“The talks failed because one side sabotaged them.” Each side blames the other: Naqvi says Afridi altered the draft; PTI’s Raja says Islamabad demanded that the province own the Centre’s counter-terrorism operations. DailyDrop cannot verify either account (Dawn, Geo News).
Glossary · dotted words — economic, legal, security and science terms explained in context. The list grows every day.
INSIDETalks collapse on Sunday morning and PTI sets off for Islamabad from Lakki Marwat; Afridi to announce next step on ThursdayPolitics · PTI long marchHormuz stays shut until Iran’s seven conditions are met, and OPEC+ leaves November output unchangedWorld · Energy and IranInflation eases to 10.26% in September but stays in double digits as fuel and power biteEconomy · InflationUS employers add only 29,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rises to 4.2%World · United StatesKSE-100 slips 481 points to 168,155 on Friday as decliners outnumber gainers 321 to 128Markets · Karachi