Talks collapse on Sunday morning and PTI sets off for Islamabad from Lakki Marwat; Afridi to announce next step on Thursday
Talks between PTI and a delegation of the government and the PPP ran for three rounds and ended on Sunday morning 4 October, when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said they had collapsed (Dawn, Geo News, ARY News). Afridi then launched the long march from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat around 1pm; the convoy reached Karak the same day, Dawn reported. The aim is the release of Imran Khan. The route continues through Kohat, Peshawar and Charsadda, and Afridi said he will announce his next step at Khairabad on Thursday 8 October. Tarar said a march on Islamabad would be difficult, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the Centre was ready to impose an emergency in the province if needed.
It is the sharpest confrontation between the federal government and the province in months, and it is tied to counter-terrorism operations in a region that has seen frequent attacks. An emergency or governor’s rule would suspend elected provincial government, a step with a contested history in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Expect road closures, slow mobile data and security checkpoints on routes between Peshawar and Islamabad this week. Markets may react to political risk, as the PSX did on Friday.
PTI says the march is a peaceful, constitutional demand for Imran Khan’s release and an independent judiciary, and that the government walked away from a deal over who owns military operations.
The government says Afridi sabotaged the talks and will be held responsible for any violence; PPP leaders argue a march cannot free Imran Khan and push for a political settlement.
The decisive date is Thursday, not Sunday. Watch whether the convoy keeps moving after Peshawar and whether the PPP, which is sitting between the two sides, keeps its objection to an emergency. A blockade of the capital would test the government more than an emergency in the province.
DailyDrop Pakistan edition No. 1 · Morning · MON., OCT. 5, 2026