Pakistan's PM tells Khan's party to end march or face law
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday told Imran Khan's party to call off its protest march or face the law. The march, led by the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is due at Khairabad on Thursday. Khan's party says it will quit parliament if the government takes over the province.
Pakistan's government and Imran Khan's party are heading for a showdown this week. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday that he would stop the party's protest march "by any means." He urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, to end the march and return to talks.
"End your long march and protests. When you end them, we will surely sit down with you," Sharif said at an event in Islamabad, Dawn reported. He said protests hurt exports and the economy and that "the law would take its course."
The march is led by Sohail Afridi, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which PTI governs. It began Sunday in Lakki Marwat. It is set to pass Peshawar and reach Khairabad, near the border with Punjab province, on Thursday, Oct. 8. Afridi says he will announce the next step there. He has not said whether marchers will head for the capital.
The federal government is weighing governor's rule or an emergency in the province. Either step could give Islamabad more control there. The province's governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, called governor's rule a "last resort." He said the march would not be allowed past Attock, in Punjab province. President Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif agreed Tuesday to try talks before any legal or constitutional step, Dawn reported.
PTI is pushing back. Its provincial president, Junaid Akbar Khan, said the party would resign from the national and provincial assemblies if governor's rule or an emergency is imposed, The Express Tribune reported. He called the threats "verbal firing."
Talks between the two sides have broken down. A junior interior minister, Tallal Chaudhry, said a draft deal was nearly done before PTI walked away. He said new talks depend on PTI calling off the march and backing a counterterrorism plan for the province, which borders Afghanistan. PTI's interim chairman, Gohar Ali Khan, said the government made only "offers" and took "no positive steps."
Some background: Khan, a former prime minister, is in prison, and PTI wants him freed. Gohar said party leaders have not met Khan since Oct. 16, 2025.
What we know: The march is due at Khairabad on Thursday, and governor's rule is still on the table.
What we don't: Whether marchers will try to go past Attock toward Islamabad.
Where outlets agree Dawn and The Financial Daily both report that the federal government is weighing governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but calls it a last resort behind talks.
Where they differ Governor Kundi says the march will not get past Attock, while PTI's Junaid Akbar Khan warns that once it reaches Swabi the party may not be able to control it.