Reporting snapshot · 20 September 2026. Government-opposition contacts over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's planned 27 September protest were confirmed publicly over the weekend, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meeting opposition leaders at his own request. Accounts of what was discussed come from the opposition side and unnamed sources; the contact produced no announced agreement, and the fate of the march remained open when this article was prepared.
What happened
Government and opposition figures confirmed over the weekend that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had met Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas at the minister’s request, in the most concrete sign yet that the government is seeking a negotiated way out of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned long march towards Islamabad on 27 September.
Raja Nasir disclosed the contact to journalists and then gave a fuller account at a press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, where he and other opposition leaders sought to frame the outreach as a government initiative rather than a concession. “He (Naqvi) came to meet [us],” Raja Nasir said, insisting that no individual could postpone the 27 September march without first meeting PTI founder Imran Khan. “No one can minus Imran,” he wrote separately on X, a phrase the opposition has since repeated.
According to The Express Tribune, which reported the account on Sunday, the meeting lasted about one hour and fifteen minutes and was held at the residence of one of Raja Nasir’s relatives. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan helped arrange it and attended, the report said, and opposition alliance sources described the contact as producing no final progress towards an agreement.
What Naqvi asked for
The contact focused on Imran Khan’s situation and the September 27 protest. Unnamed sources told The Express Tribune that Naqvi asked Raja Nasir to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying such a meeting could pave the way for relief for Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, and that the interior minister sought the cancellation of the 27 September protest.
Naqvi also conveyed that negotiations would require the resumption of meetings with Imran Khan and that the PTI leadership should consult him directly before deciding whether to withdraw the protest call, the sources said. The message was that once the call was withdrawn, it should remain withdrawn and the protest should not be revived. Raja Nasir, for his part, arranged a telephone conversation between Naqvi and Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmed Yousufzai told Dawn that the meeting had taken place on 14 September at Naqvi’s request and that Raja Nasir and Gohar had represented the opposition side. Raja Nasir said the meeting had been held at the interior minister’s request and that he had not approached anyone for it.
The opposition’s position
At his press conference, Raja Nasir said the provision of basic facilities to citizens and the protection of their constitutional rights remained among the major issues confronting the country, and repeated the central objection: that Imran Khan could not be excluded from any political settlement and that no issue could be resolved without consulting him.
Other opposition figures echoed the theme. TTAP leader and former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair said there was a widening gap between the lifestyle of the ruling elite and the economic difficulties faced by ordinary citizens, while PTI leader and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra criticised government spending and questioned reported expenditure on a jet costing Rs10 billion alongside official and private travel.
Against this backdrop, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who is expected to lead the march, met Raja Nasir and Achakzai in Islamabad on Saturday for further consultations on the 27 September call. According to TTAP, the meeting covered the future course of action and political strategy, with the leaders describing the protest as an “effective and organised political struggle” for constitutional supremacy, democratic rights, provincial rights and the protection of the public mandate. It was the second meeting between the three leaders that week; they had also met on Thursday.
The stakes behind the contact
The outreach comes as the government prepares to enforce an Islamabad High Court order issued on 18 September that bars any party or leader from occupying the capital’s roads and public places, and as Naqvi has warned that anyone violating the judgment would first face contempt of court proceedings and would then be stopped “in every possible way”. A The News special report on Sunday described Islamabad and Rawalpindi as on high alert, with additional police requested from the provinces, shipping containers being positioned at key points, and the army already deployed in the capital ahead of a week in which Jamaat-e-Islami’s own march and a farmers’ protest are also converging on the city.
PTI announced the 27 September march on 8 August to demand Imran Khan’s release, describing it as a peaceful nationwide mobilisation in defence of the Constitution. The opposition alliance formed in August has since pledged support, and leaders including Afridi have toured provinces to rally supporters.
The government, for its part, has maintained that it wants to resolve the matter through legal and political means. A The News report on Sunday said some government leaders had begun back-channel communication with the PTI leadership and that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and PTI chairman Gohar had held several meetings over the past weeks. It noted that if the two sides reached an agreement, PTI might change its agitation plan, and that failing an agreement, the government was expected to handle the party in line with past practice.
What is still uncertain
The confirmed contact is not an agreement. Opposition alliance sources said the outreach had produced no final progress on the September 27 protest and did not prove particularly meaningful in terms of reaching an accord. PTI has not indicated that the march would be postponed, and Raja Nasir has publicly said only Imran Khan could decide. Whether a meeting between the jailed founder and the opposition leaders who claim to speak for him can be arranged, whether Naqvi’s outreach is the beginning of a wider negotiation or a tactical pause, and how the government enforces the court order if the march proceeds all remain open questions a week before the planned mobilisation.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 20 September 2026.
- The Express Tribune — "Govt opens talks with opposition"20 September 2026 · The confirmed Naqvi–Raja Nasir meeting, the request to meet the prime minister, the push to consult Imran Khan and the Achakzai phone call.
- Pakistan Today — "Only Imran Khan can decide fate of PTI's Sept 27 protest, says Raja Nasir Abbas"19 September 2026 · Raja Nasir's confirmation, the opposition position, and the opposition leaders' Saturday consultations.
- The News — "Bracing for impact" (special report)20 September 2026 · Background on back-channel government-PTI contacts, security preparations and the converging marches.
