Government and PTI Hold First Round of Talks, Meet Again on 3 October

The government and the opposition led by PTI held their first round of talks at Parliament House in Islamabad on Friday 2 October 2026. National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chaired the meeting. No deal was announced. A second round is set for Saturday 3 October at 2pm in the Speaker's chamber.

That is what Radio Pakistan, the state broadcaster, reported after the meeting, and we read its report. It said the two sides "held detailed discussions on the prevailing political situation in the country." It did not say what either side asked for, and it did not mention PTI's march planned for Sunday 4 October.

So the official record is short. The rest of what is known so far comes from statements both sides gave to reporters, and we mark those as reported below.

The first round ended without a deal and a second round is set

The first round of government and PTI talks ended on 2 October with no agreement announced. Radio Pakistan said both sides discussed the political situation and will meet again on Saturday 3 October at 2pm in the Speaker's chamber at Parliament House.

The talks follow a decision taken on Thursday 1 October, when President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met at Aiwan-e-Sadr. That meeting named a joint team from the federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to talk to PTI. We covered how the six-member government and PPP team was formed the night before.

Radio Pakistan first reported at midday on Friday that negotiations were "underway" with the Speaker in the chair. Its second report, later the same day, confirmed the round was over and gave the time for the next one. Neither report gave a joint statement or a list of points agreed.

Both sides set out their demands, according to reports

Reports say the government asked PTI to postpone or cancel its 4 October march. PTI is reported to have asked for a meeting with its jailed founder, Imran Khan, and the release of party members. None of these demands appears in any official statement we found.

According to reports, these were the main positions put on the table:

• Government side: asked PTI to call off or delay the march, and said a march on the capital would not be allowed. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reportedly briefed the meeting on law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• PTI side: asked for a meeting with Imran Khan at Adiala jail to settle its agenda with him, and for the release of his sisters and arrested party lawmakers.
• Both sides: agreed to keep talking, which is the one point Radio Pakistan's report also confirms.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told reporters the talks were held in a positive atmosphere and that his party had put forward its demands. He also said the march will go ahead, as reported. Rana Sanaullah, the Prime Minister's adviser on political affairs, publicly urged PTI before the meeting to withdraw the march call, according to reports.

Six members sat on each side of the table

The government team included ministers from the PML-N led federal government and three PPP leaders. The opposition team was led by PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan. Radio Pakistan named the government and PPP members on 1 October; the opposition line-up comes from reports.

One change on the opposition side is worth noting. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who heads the opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), reportedly refused to attend in the Speaker's chamber and asked for a neutral venue. PTI then named its delegation without him, according to reports.

Roads into Islamabad were open on Friday evening

The M-1, M-14 and GT Road into Islamabad were open on Friday evening. When we read the Motorway Police travel board at 17:41 PKT on 2 October, all three showed "Road & Weather Clear". No official closure order for 4 October had been published yet.

That could change quickly. Before the earlier march date, the same roads were shut for days with containers. Our record of the Islamabad road closures on 27 September shows how fast that happened. Reports this week say containers are again being placed in parts of the capital, but we found no new traffic plan on the Islamabad Police website when we checked.

If you plan to travel to or from Islamabad over the weekend, this order of checks works best:

1. Read the Motorway Police travel board on the morning you leave. It shows each motorway's status and the time it was last updated.
2. Call the Motorway Police helpline 130 if the board is unclear for your route.
3. Call Islamabad Traffic Police on 1915 for roads inside the city.
4. Keep a GT Road option in mind. On 28 September it reopened at the same time as the M-1 between Islamabad and Peshawar.
5. Avoid crowds and follow police instructions near Faizabad, Zero Point and the Red Zone.

A Section 144 order, which bans public gatherings, was already in force in Islamabad from late September. We listed the Section 144 orders across Pakistan and their end dates when they were issued.

The 3 October round decides what happens to the march

The second round on Saturday 3 October at 2pm is the last scheduled meeting before PTI's planned 4 October march. Whether the march goes ahead, is delayed or is called off is not yet decided, and no side has said otherwise on the record.

We will not guess the outcome. We will publish what the Speaker's office, Radio Pakistan or the parties state on the record after Saturday's meeting.

Common questions

Did the government and PTI reach an agreement on 2 October?

No. Radio Pakistan reported detailed discussions and a second round on 3 October. No agreement or joint statement was announced.

When is the next round of talks?

Saturday 3 October 2026 at 2pm, in the National Assembly Speaker's chamber at Parliament House, Islamabad, according to Radio Pakistan.

Is PTI's 4 October march cancelled?

No, not as of Friday evening. PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the march will go ahead, as reported. The government has asked PTI to call it off, also as reported.

Who chaired the talks?

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chaired the meeting at Parliament House, Radio Pakistan said.

Are the motorways to Islamabad closed?

No. At 17:41 PKT on 2 October the Motorway Police board showed the M-1, M-14 and GT Road clear. Check again on the day you travel.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We last checked on Friday 2 October 2026 at 17:45 PKT. We read Radio Pakistan's two reports of 2 October, its 1 October report on the President and Prime Minister's meeting, and the Radio Pakistan report on the first round. We read the Motorway Police travel advisory at 17:41 PKT. The National Assembly Speaker's press releases had nothing on the talks when we checked. Demands, quotes and the opposition line-up come from statements to reporters and are marked as reported.