ISLAMABAD: Marathon talks between Pakistan's government and opposition ended without a breakthrough on Sunday, leaving key differences unresolved ahead of a planned protest march on Islamabad by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party.

The second round of talks began at Parliament House at around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday after a nearly three-hour delay and continued for several hours. The two sides were trying to finalize a draft as intense political activity continued late into the night.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was seen leaving Parliament House during the negotiations and later returning. Local media, citing sources, reported that Naqvi had briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on the discussions before returning to the talks.

Speaking to media on Sunday, Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, who was part of the opposition team, said the deadlock persisted over their meeting with ex-PM Khan, granting him access to personal physicians and a military operation in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

"On our meeting with Imran Khan sahib, they (government side) said 'not now, but it can be arranged later on'," Abbas said.

"The issues relating to a [military] operation in KPK, the role of the province and the federation, an understanding could not be reached in this regard too."

The talks came amid heightened political tensions between the federal government and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which governs KP, over the Oct. 4 march as well as governance and worsening militant violence in the province.

Khan's PTI announced the march to secure his release. The federal government has in the past hinted at a major military operation against militant groups in KP, which has been opposed by the PTI-led provincial administration.

Interior Minister Naqvi said on Sunday the KP government had agreed to sign a written agreement, covering reconsideration of the Police Act 2026, which changes how the police force is managed and shifts key authority toward the provincial government, in light of the security situation and the “need to protect security matters from political interference;” preventing "terrorists from operating freely or finding safe havens in the province;" unequivocal condemnation of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, and all other terrorist groups; support for the national policy on Afghan refugees, no contact with the interim Afghan government, substantial funding for counterterrorism operations and police; full provincial ownership of counterterrorism measures and stronger cooperation with armed forces; and implementation of the National Action Plan to counter militancy in the country.

"Last night, during the final phase of negotiations, the KP government backed out of these commitments," Naqvi said on X.

"Security must not be politicised while the province is at war."

KP has witnessed a sharp surge in militant attacks, with dozens of security men, law enforcers, civilians killed and injured in recent months.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that operate on its soil and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says Pakistan’s security is an internal matter of Islamabad.

Pakistani federal ministers have raised the possibility of governor’s rule, which would place KP provincial government functions under federal control, though no decision to impose it has been announced.

State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, who was part of the government’s delegation, said the talks with opposition failed primarily because the PTI provincial government did not want to implement the National Action Plan against militancy and that the PTI delegation had also left the venue “extremely disappointed."

In a post on X, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi criticized the federal government for their "failed policies" against militants.

"Terrorism has been imposed upon Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Due to the failed policies of the federal government, the province has consistently been bombarded and remained engulfed in fire," he said.

"Innocent people from my province lose their lives in military operations and drone strikes, which is dismissed as 'collateral damage' and the matter is settled with mere 'sorry'."

Earlier, the central government agreed to pursue talks after a Thursday meeting between President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that reviewed the political and security situation and expressed concern over conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PTI said on Friday its Oct. 4 march remained on schedule despite the first round of talks with the government. The party had postponed the march from Sept. 27 after authorities blocked routes toward Islamabad with shipping containers and deployed security forces.

The timetable indicates Oct. 4 is the departure date, rather than the date protesters would reach Islamabad. The PTI statement did not specify when the march would arrive in the capital.