Overview
- Hours after talks between federal negotiators and the opposition broke down on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi led thousands of PTI supporters on a long march from Lakki Marwat toward Islamabad.
- Negotiators had drafted a five-point framework that included legal and visiting facilities for Imran Khan, early hearings of pending cases, committees to implement decisions, and joint federal‑provincial counterterrorism work, but the talks stalled at late-stage revisions.
- PTI says the talks failed because the government would not guarantee unfettered meetings with Imran Khan or include his personal physicians in medical reviews, while the government says the KP administration backed away from security commitments.
- The federal government has warned it will block entry to Islamabad, cited an Islamabad High Court order banning occupation of public roads and buildings, and deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel around the capital.
- The standoff leaves key demands unresolved and raises two immediate risks: a confrontation in the capital if marchers try to enter Islamabad, and continued friction over whether counterterrorism in KP is set by the centre or by provincial consultation, complicating operations against rising militancy.