Sharif Offers PTI Talks if It Ends March

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government would resume talks with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if it ends its protest march and sit-ins, as the party’s supporters continued a march seeking the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. PTI leaders rejected the condition as inadequate and said the march would continue, leaving both the protest and prospects for renewed negotiations unresolved. Sharif made the offer on Tuesday, October 6, after negotiations between government and PTI representatives broke down. He urged the party to call off its march toward Islamabad and said the government would then sit down with it to discuss political disputes. He warned that demonstrations could harm the economy and said authorities would enforce the law while protecting people and property. PTI supporters began the march on Sunday from Lakki Marwat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seeking Khan’s release. The march was reported to remain in the province on Monday. An observer reported seeing thousands of supporters in Kohat district that day, but the supplied accounts do not establish the total size of the march or its subsequent route.