Govt will not accept demands by ‘holding state hostage’, Sanaullah warns PTI
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that the government would not accept political demands through pressure tactics or attempts to “hold the state hostage”, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf maintained that its long march would continue and only Imran Khan could decide when to call it off.
“I want to say this clearly today that no demand can be accepted by holding the state hostage or pursuing the path of political instability,” Sanaullah said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
He urged PTI to set aside what he described as its politics of instability and prioritise the national interest by resolving differences through dialogue.
Sanaullah said the government remained willing to hold talks but warned that political demands could not be accepted through pressure tactics.
“They should renounce political instability and not give priority to their personal political agenda over the national interest. They should sit for talks and resolve these issues through negotiations. However, despite our desire for talks, under no circumstances should they try to hold the state hostage to have their political demands accepted. This tactic will not be allowed,” he added.
حکومت کی جانب سے مذاکرات کے دروازے کھلے ہیں، رانا ثناء اللہ#RanaSanaullah #Dialogue #Negotiations #PakistanPolitics pic.twitter.com/qPVL5foXGa
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) October 7, 2026
The adviser also accused PTI of introducing a culture of political intolerance, instability and abusive rhetoric into national politics since 2011. “Unfortunately, PTI has remained successful, to some extent, in both of these objectives,” Sanaullah said.
He argued that political tolerance, which he described as once being a hallmark of Pakistani politics, had been replaced by a culture of abusive and below-the-belt political discourse.
Sanaullah said the trend remained visible in traditional and social media and had also affected the atmosphere surrounding the government’s recent negotiations with PTI.
He further accused PTI of pursuing a consistent agenda of political instability since its 2014 protest in Islamabad. “Political instability began in 2014 and now 12 years have passed. PTI, as a political party, has consistently carried forward this agenda,” he said.
Referring to PTI’s 126-day sit-in in Islamabad in 2014, Sanaullah said: “Since then, laying siege to Islamabad has remained one of PTI’s strong points.”
The adviser added that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government was using all its resources for its agenda, arguing that over the past two years they had been used generally, over the past two months specifically, and over the past three days particularly.
ایک طرف شہداء کے جنازے پڑے ہیں اور دوسری طرف پی ٹی آئی ڈھول ڈھمکے کے ساتھ اسلام آباد پر چڑھائی کی تیاری کر رہی ہے، رانا ثناء اللہ#RanaSanaullah #PTI #Islamabad #PoliticalTensions pic.twitter.com/FinNSvcU1W
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) October 7, 2026
Sanaullah also accused the K-P government of overlooking martyrs, asking whether the martyred Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials and police personnel belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or were residents of some other province. “They were people of K-P, residents of K-P,” he said.
He further argued that a “big portion” of those martyred in K-P belonged to the province itself, including civilians, armed forces personnel and law-enforcement officials.
The adviser said the day before, “on one side there lay the bodies of the martyrs, and on the other side, the entire provincial government, while beating drums and chanting slogans, was provoking people to come together”. “This is the attitude of the K-P government; this attitude cannot be tolerated in any way,” he added.
He also claimed that “they have not been able to gather more than a few thousand in any area they have gone”. According to Sanaullah, “Giving priority to your personal, political agenda over national interests, no way is permitted constitutionally, lawfully, or in regard to political ethics.”
He said this had been made clear to the K-P government, adding that its response was that governing or working for people’s welfare was not its agenda and that it had a different agenda.
Govt defends counterterrorism policy
Sanaullah said PTI’s claims regarding the anti-terrorism policy were “an attempt to create confusion”, referring to a press briefing in which PTI leader Salman Akram Raja had said the federal government “had nothing to do” with the policy. “This is completely wrong,” the adviser said, adding that the policy “is already made; it is being implemented”.
Sanaullah said the main point of contention was the intelligence-based operations being conducted in K-P. He added that Pakistan’s armed forces and law-enforcement agencies were risking their lives and “progressing with success and bravery”.
According to Sanaullah, the K-P government was opposed to the operations.
Also Read: Govt has left no room for talks: Fazl
Referring to separate attacks on police personnel and civilians, including attacks on a passport office and a council in Swat, he said the operations were being conducted against the “beasts” responsible for the attacks. “How can the operations be stopped and how can someone object to them?” he asked.
Sanaullah said explanations were also being given that “some new operation is going to start or IDPs will be created”.
He said Field Marshal Asim Munir, while addressing the armed forces, had clarified the matter, while the federal government had also categorically stated that there was no move to create internally displaced persons. “This is just an attempt, for no reason, to spread fear among the people,” he said.
Sanaullah further said the intelligence-based operations would continue.
دہشت گردوں کا پاکستان کی سرزمین سے قلع قمع کیا جائے گا، رانا ثناء اللہ#RanaSanaullah #CounterTerrorism #PakistanSecurity #Terrorism pic.twitter.com/Aa5kv3CnJG
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) October 7, 2026
Turning to Afghanistan, the adviser said Pakistan’s only demand was for Kabul to “stop letting your soil be used for terrorism in Pakistan”. “There is not a word beyond this demand,” Sanaullah said.
He added that brotherly countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China and Turkiye, “have tried their best” and had explained to the Afghan regime that it should ensure its territory was not used for terrorism in Pakistan. “But they have not done so,” he maintained.
He further said the Afghan regime was not ready to give Islamabad a guarantee and that Pakistan’s policy was that if Afghan soil was being used for training camps or activities enabling terrorism in Pakistan, Islamabad had the right to neutralise them. “For this, Pakistan has, with full evidence but on a limited scale, conducted operations and Pakistan keeps this right protected,” he added.
Regarding the anti-terrorism policy, Sanaullah said it was “based on the experiences of the past 40 years” involving Afghanistan, the Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan.
He stated that there was national consensus on the policy. “If there is no consensus, it is on the part of the PTI and only for the reason that it places its personal politics over national interest. There is nothing other than this,” he added.
Read More: Rising terrorism in K-P must be stopped ‘at all costs’: PM Shehbaz
Discussing the apex committee, Sanaullah questioned K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi about his participation in the forum and asked how many meetings he had conducted over the past 11 months.
“How many times have you sat and objected to this policy or have tried to bring some betterment to it or have suggested some betterment to it?” he asked.
He said the existing policy against terrorism had been successful, adding that if there had been any lack of success, “the reason for it is the provincial government’s absence and instability”.
‘Security forces lack resources and civil presence’
The adviser also said security forces in K-P remained under-resourced and that the required civil administration presence was lacking in cleared areas.
He said under the anti-terrorism policy, the armed forces conducted intelligence-based operations to clear an area and, once it had been cleared, the area “should be held by the civil administration, police, CTD, but they don’t exist there”.
Sanaullah said the absence of a sustained civil and police presence meant that areas cleared by the armed forces could return to the same situation months later.
“The armed forces and other law-enforcement agencies, when they clear one area and then move forward, six months later, three months later, it’s the same situation,” he added.
Only Imran can call off long march: Shaukat Yousafzai
Earlier in a statement, PTI K-P spokesperson Shaukat Yousafzai rejected threats of governor’s rule in the province, saying the march would not end under pressure and that only jailed PTI founder Imran Khan could decide its fate.
The long march, which is being headed by K-P CM Sohail Afridi, announced a change in the route, saying the march would first head towards Khyber and then proceed to Peshawar. The march is set to begin from the suburban area of Mattani before heading towards Khyber, where the participants would camp for the night.
Yousafzai criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s repeated offers of dialogue, saying the government should move beyond public statements and address the opposition’s demands.
“The prime minister, do not just play the negotiations game in the media. If you have the authority, accept the opposition’s legitimate demands,” he said.
Yousafzai urged the government to respect decisions of the high courts and Supreme Court and reiterated that PTI would not withdraw its demands concerning party leader. “We will not back down from our demands for a meeting with Imran and his transfer to hospital,” he said.
He also called for the release of imprisoned women, including Imran’s sisters.
He questioned K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi’s authority to summon the provincial chief secretary and inspector general of police to a meeting. “Kundi has exceeded his authority. After the 18th Amendment, the governor does not even have the authority to crack a walnut,” he said.
The PTI spokesperson defended CM Afridi amid criticism from federal government figures, saying he regretted what he described as negative propaganda against the chief minister.
Turning to the security situation in K-P, Yousafzai said terrorism could not be addressed by undermining the province’s electoral mandate.
He called on the federal government to bring all stakeholders together to formulate a strategy against terrorism. “All problems will be resolved through negotiations,” he added.
Meanwhile, K-P police spokesman Alam Khan said that Police had prepared a security plan from Peshawar to Nowshera amid security concerns, with drone cameras to be used to monitor the long march.
“Security arrangements have been divided into three categories, with three SPs assigned responsibility for security in the city, suburban areas and along Ring Road,” he added.
Khan said that around 300 personnel would be deployed along the march and its routes, while the City Patrol Force unit would also remain deployed at Peshawar’s entry and exit points.Read More