Story summary
On Wednesday, Rana Sanaullah, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs and a leader of the PML-N party, stated in Islamabad that the government would not be pressured into accepting demands through protests. He said that holding the state "hostage" and creating political instability is unacceptable. Sanaullah emphasized that negotiations with the opposition are open but cannot be used to force the government to meet specific demands.
Sanaullah highlighted PTI's past disruptive actions, such as their protests in Islamabad in 2022 and 2024, and pointed out an increase in terrorism incidents, including recent casualties involving children, civilians, and soldiers from KP. He criticized the KP government for their attitude towards these tragic events, noting that it was "unacceptable" to engage in celebratory activities like playing dhol drums while bodies of those killed by terrorists lay elsewhere.
The adviser also lamented the current political environment as one marked by a culture of intolerance and aggressive tactics rather than constructive dialogue. He noted recent failed negotiations between the government and PTI, including a second round of talks at Parliament House that ended in deadlock on Sunday.
Written for “PTI March and Demands” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
PTI cannot pressure the government into accepting demands by holding the state “hostage” and creating political instability, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday.
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Sanaullah → pressure → Wednesday
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Sanaullah said that the government would not allow the opposition to use talks as a “tool” for making political demands.
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opposition → speak → demands
“Doors for talks are open,” Sanaullah said, recalling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks yesterday calling on the PTI leadership to sit down for talks and abandon their protest plans.
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Sanaullah → say → plans
However, Sanaullah said, negotiations could not be used to strong-arm the government.
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negotiations → say → government
The PML-N leader described PTI as having been “successful” in obstructing peace.
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leader → describe → peace
Politics had been transformed into a culture of “below the belt” jabs at each other and a “culture of intolerance”, he lamented.
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he → transform → intolerance
On Sunday, hours-long negotiations between the government and the opposition during a second round of talks ended in a “deadlock”.
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negotiations → end → deadlock
The meeting at Parliament House began Saturday afternoon, with discussions focusing on the PTI’s planned Oct 4 march to Islamabad.
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discussions → begin → Islamabad
Later on Monday, PTI leaders declared that reconciliation with the government was not possible without including incarcerated party founder Imran Khan in the dialogue process.
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reconciliation → declare → process
They said that another reason for the failure of the talks was that the government was not willing to pursue a collective strategy against terrorism.
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government → say → terrorism
The PM’s adviser contended that PTI’s stance that it was being left out of decisions on counterterrorism policy was “completely wrong” and “misleading”.
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it → contend → policy
He added that the reasons for the deadlock in talks have been misinterpreted.
“The policy on countering terrorism is already being acted upon,” Sanaullah noted, referring to intelligence-based operations (IBOs) being carried out on a daily basis with “huge success”.
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Sanaullah → add → success
He went on to claim that PTI was against such IBOs.
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PTI → go → IBOs
In June 2024, the government announced a reinvigorated “Operation Azm-i-Istehkam” but, following criticism, clarified shortly later that it would only entail intensifying ongoing IBOs and rebranded it as “Vision Azm-i-Istehkam”.
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it → announce → Istehkam
Sanaullah pointed out that the armed forces and law enforcement agencies have been sacrificing their lives to keep the operations going.
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forces → point → operations
The PM’s adviser said it was being falsely claimed that new military operations would be undertaken and more people would be displaced.
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people → say → ?
He clarified that the already ongoing IBOs were supposed to continue under the existing counterterrorism policy.
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IBOs → clarify → policy
Sanaullah further said that Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had previously clarified that no one would be internally displaced as a result of the operations.
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one → say → operations
Speaking on the matter of the ongoing rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sanaullah said that Islamabad had been “fair” in demanding that the Afghan government not allow its land to be used for terrorist activities in Pakistan.
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land → speak → Pakistan
He also elaborated on past talks with the Afghan authorities, saying that in the multiple rounds of dialogue, the Afghan interim government had accepted evidence presented by Pakistan for terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan as true.
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government → elaborate → Afghanistan
However, he said, the Afghan Taliban had refused to guarantee that their land would not be used for terror attacks against Pakistan.
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land → say → Pakistan
“Pakistan’s policy is that it has the right to neutralise training camps or any activity on Afghan land that could cause terrorism in Pakistan later on,” Sanaullah stated.
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Sanaullah → have → Pakistan
The policy was based on experiences from the past 40 years and more, he added.
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he → base → years
The PML-N leader contended that PTI was the only party opposed to the policy because it wanted to prioritise its politics over national interest.
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it → contend → interest
During his press conference, the PM’s adviser recalled PTI’s past protests in Islamabad, including in 2022 and 2024.
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adviser → recall → 2022
Sanaullah highlighted the recent rise in terrorism incidents, stressing that martyrs included children, civilians and soldiers from KP.
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martyrs → highlight → KP
“On one hand, the martyrs’ bodies were lying there, and on the other hand, the entire provincial government was playing the dhol and chanting slogans, urging people to join the march on Islamabad.
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government → lie → Islamabad
The attitude of the KP government was “unacceptable”, the PML-N leader declared, adding that the people in the province had also condemned it.
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people → declare → it
“Prioritising personal and political agendas over national interest is not permissible by law, the Constitution or political ethics,” Sanaullah remarked.
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Sanaullah → prioritise → law
He criticised the KP government’s performance, claiming governance and working for the betterment of the people was not on PTI’s agenda.
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governance → criticise → agenda
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