PPP to seek Bilawal’s nod as TTAP reaches out ahead of opposition APC

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday said it would refer an invitation from the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) to attend an upcoming All Parties Conference (APC) to party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari after a meeting between the two sides at the party’s Islamabad secretariat. A TTAP delegation, comprising representatives of opposition parties, visited the PPP Central Secretariat and met PPP Parliamentarians Secretary General Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, formally inviting the party to participate in the conference. Welcoming the delegation, Bukhari said the invitation would be conveyed to Bilawal and that the TTAP would subsequently be informed of the PPP chairman’s stance on participating in the conference.   تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان کے وفد کی پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی سینٹرل سیکریٹریٹ اسلام آباد آمد، آل پارٹیز کانفرنس میں شرکت کی دعوت اسلام آباد: 29 ستمبر 2026 تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان کے وفد نے پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے سینٹرل سیکریٹریٹ اسلام آباد کا دورہ کیا اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی… pic.twitter.com/UaW4tCeFtM — Pakistan Peoples Party - PPP (@PPP_Org) September 29, 2026 The PPP leader said the party considered continued consultation and engagement among political parties on constitutional and democratic matters important. The opposition delegation included Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada and TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai.   📍29 ستمبر 2026 تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان کے وفد کی پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی سینٹرل سیکریٹریٹ اسلام آباد آمد، آل پارٹیز کانفرنس میں شرکت کی دعوت تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان کے وفد نے پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے سینٹرل سیکریٹریٹ اسلام آباد کا دورہ کیا اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی پارلیمنٹیرینز کے… pic.twitter.com/NoZOWr6kBu — Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (@TTAP_OFFICIAL) September 29, 2026 During the meeting, the delegation briefed the PPP leadership on the objectives and agenda of the proposed APC. The two sides also exchanged views on the prevailing political situation, supremacy of the Constitution, strengthening democratic institutions and maintaining contacts among political parties. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gohar anticipated a positive response from the PPP leadership. “We are waiting for the response of PPP (regarding the invitation),” he said, adding that both parties agreed that the role of political parties was extremely important in maintaining democracy.   چیئرمین پی ٹی آئی بیرسٹر گوہر خان کی سینیٹ میں قائدِ حزبِ اختلاف علامہ راجہ ناصر عباس، سینیٹر ذیشان خانزادہ اور اخون زادہ حسین کے ہمراہ پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے مرکزی سیکرٹریٹ میں سابق چیئرمین سینیٹ نیئر حسین بخاری سے ملاقات کے بعد میڈیا ٹاک pic.twitter.com/uCSoQKaqUG — Barrister Gohar Khan (@BarristerGohar) September 29, 2026 “Democracy is strengthened when the voice of the people is heard, and the mandate awarded by them is respected,” he said. Gohar called for building consensus among parties on various issues affecting the country’s political environment, including an independent judiciary and election commission. The meeting came as the opposition alliance sought to broaden political consultations ahead of its APC by reaching out to other parties and seeking their participation in the conference. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has agreed to attend the opposition’s moot. The PTI, a key member of the TTAP, is also planning a long march on Oct 4, which was initially scheduled for Sept 27, as the party seeks to form a joint opposition alliance against the government. Earlier today, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi expressed displeasure over what he described as a lack of interest among some PTI members in preparations for the party’s planned long march to Islamabad, according to party sources. CM Afridi made the remarks while chairing a meeting of PTI’s parliamentary party at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar, while some lawmakers did not attend the meeting in person and joined through Zoom. Read: PTI faces heavy odds Two days ago, the opposition alliance downplayed its differences with the PTI as insignificant and vowed to support the party. "Our differences are over unilateral decisions by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister regarding the movement. But we will not withdraw our support for the march and will participate whenever it is held," a source within the TTAP told The Express Tribune. The source cast doubt on the date announced by the chief minister, saying there was strong support within the group for a strategy of attrition aimed at wearing down the government. The PTI had rescheduled its march to Islamabad to October 4. Meanwhile, a senior PTI leader said such a strategy could prove more damaging to the party than to the government, adding that what the leader described as abduction-style arrests of ministers, lawmakers and party office-bearers, as well as firing at the residences of party leaders, had spread fear among party members.