Pakistan Opposition to Hold All-Parties Conference Within 10 Days as Imran Khan’s Health Raises Alarm

Pakistan’s opposition parties have agreed to hold an all-parties conference within 10 days, in their first joint show of unity since the federal government imposed emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month. The decision was taken at a meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, where leaders also raised fresh alarm about the health of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

The meeting, held at the Islamabad home of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, brought together the main opposition groups for the first time since the emergency was imposed in the northwestern province on 11 October. The leaders agreed to strengthen their alliance, work together in parliament, and organise a multi-party conference that will take up the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the state of parliament, the economy, and Khan’s detention.

What the opposition agreed

The parties decided to form two committees. One will work through the differences between the opposition parties themselves. The other will organise the all-parties conference — fixing its agenda, consulting other political parties, and announcing its date. The conference is expected to be held within a week to 10 days of the meeting, which means by about 14 November.

This matters because Pakistan’s opposition has often struggled to act together. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the JUI-F, and the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) alliance have different histories, different support bases, and different priorities. A joint conference would be their first attempt to agree on a common plan since the emergency removed the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the only province the party governed.

The meeting was described by the TTAP as a gathering of a “united opposition”. Whether that unity holds once the conference agenda is set remains to be seen — but the fact that the parties sat together at all, and agreed on a date for a bigger meeting, is a clear signal that they want to present a common front against the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Who was in the room

The meeting was hosted by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose JUI-F has become a central player in opposition politics in recent weeks. Also present were Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and head of the TTAP alliance, and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, the leader of the opposition in the Senate.

From the PTI, the attendees included Asad Qaiser, the party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar, and Noorul Haq Qadri. Others present included the TTAP spokesperson Akhundzada Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai, Khan’s legal counsel Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, and Agha Nasir Shirazi.

Fazlur Rehman has accused the federal government of misusing the Constitution and of going back on commitments made during his mediation efforts. PTI’s Salman Akram Raja thanked him for standing with the party, and said the JUI-F chief was being “punished” for doing so. Raja summed up the fragile nature of the new alliance in a single line: “some may walk with us for one mile, some for 10 miles.”

Imran Khan’s health takes centre stage

The most urgent issue raised at the meeting was the health of Imran Khan, the PTI founder, who has been in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi since his arrest in August 2023. He is 73 years old.

Salman Akram Raja told the meeting that Khan’s blood pressure was not under control. The PTI said in an official statement that his blood pressure had surged to 192, and demanded his immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment by his personal doctors. The party pointed to a Supreme Court order of 18 August in support of its demand.

It is important to be clear about what is verified and what is not. The figure of 192 comes from the PTI itself. No independent medical report has been published alongside the party’s claim, and the government has not published its own medical account of Khan’s condition. Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, has said he was not the source of the alarming health reports circulating about his client.

What is on the record is that Khan complained in early August of uncontrolled and fluctuating blood pressure, along with palpitations, headaches, and restlessness, according to annexures attached to a jail report submitted to the Supreme Court. That is the documented background to the party’s latest concern.

There was also worrying news about another senior PTI leader. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the party’s vice chairman, who is held in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, fainted during a walk in his barrack and hurt his knee and arm, according to his counsel. Blood samples have been sent to Shaukat Khanum hospital for examination.

Separately, the Islamabad High Court has fixed 10 November for hearing the appeals of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case.

Why this meeting happened now

The opposition meeting cannot be understood without the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On 11 October 2026, President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency in the province under Article 232 of the Constitution and imposed governor’s rule under Article 234. The move suspended the provincial government led by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of the PTI, and the governor took charge with an 11-member advisory council. Parliament later approved the emergency.

The federal government said the provincial government had deliberately disengaged from the fight against terrorism, and accused it of forming an “unholy alliance” with militants — a charge the PTI rejects. The PTI calls the emergency a political takeover that removed it from power in the only province it governed.

The consequences have spread well beyond the province. The federal cabinet has since transferred the chief minister’s powers to the governor, and the Election Commission has halted local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the federal government extended the suspension of Article 140-A, the constitutional provision that requires local governments. At the same time, the first phase of local government elections in Punjab has been set for 7 February 2027.

The opposition leaders discussed all of this at their meeting: the emergency and governor’s rule, the state of parliament, the economy, and Khan’s detention. Their answer, for now, is to organise together rather than protest separately.

What is an all-parties conference — and what could it change?

An all-parties conference, often shortened to APC, is a meeting where political parties come together to agree on a common position on a major issue. It is not a parliament session and it cannot pass laws. Its power is political: when parties that normally disagree speak with one voice, it is harder for a government to ignore them.

APCs have been used many times in Pakistan’s history, often at moments of crisis — after elections, during standoffs between the government and the opposition, or when a major national decision was at stake. Their record is mixed. Some have produced real agreements and joint action. Others have ended in disagreement, with the parties going back to their separate corners.

This conference will be judged on three things. First, whether the parties can agree on an agenda that goes beyond their individual complaints. Second, whether they can agree on what to do next — for example, a joint protest, a joint move in parliament, or a legal challenge. And third, whether the alliance survives contact with the government, which has so far defended the emergency as a necessary response to terrorism and shown no sign of reversing it.

The other claims in the background

The meeting also came amid claims and counter-claims about the PTI’s internal position. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan rejected reports that Khan had welcomed the end of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the claim “completely false”. He said all PTI lawmakers in the province remained with the party and that there was no forward bloc.

There was also a small but telling detail about access to Khan. A meeting between Khan and Bushra Bibi and their lawyer Salman Safdar on Monday was the first since 8 April, after a long period in which access to the former prime minister had been restricted. For the opposition, that long gap in access is part of the same story as the health concerns: a party that says it cannot see its leader, and cannot get clear information about his health.

What happens next

The conference committee will now consult other political parties and announce the date and agenda of the all-parties conference. The meeting is expected within a week to 10 days of the 4 November gathering.

Three dates are worth watching. The first is 10 November, when the Islamabad High Court hears the appeals of Khan and Bushra Bibi in the £190 million case. The second is the announcement of the conference date itself, which will show whether the opposition can move from talking about unity to organising it. The third is the conference itself, which will show whether the parties can agree on a joint course of action — or whether their differences prove stronger than their common cause.

For the government, the message from the meeting is clear: the opposition is trying to unite. For the opposition, the test is whether unity survives beyond a single meeting in Islamabad.

Frequently asked questions

What is an all-parties conference?

It is a meeting of political parties to agree on a common position on a major issue. It cannot pass laws, but a joint opposition position carries political weight and can shape public debate, parliamentary action, and legal challenges.

When will the conference be held?

Within 10 days of the opposition meeting on 4 November 2026, according to the decision taken at that meeting. The organising committee will consult other parties and announce the date and agenda.

Who attended the opposition meeting?

Maulana Fazlur Rehman hosted it. Attendees included Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and PTI leaders Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, Amir Dogar, and Noorul Haq Qadri.

What did the PTI say about Imran Khan’s health?

The party said his blood pressure had surged to 192 and was not under control, and demanded his transfer to Shifa International Hospital for treatment by his personal doctors. No independent medical report has been published with the claim, and the government has not published its own medical account.

Why was emergency rule imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

The federal government imposed it on 11 October 2026, saying the provincial government had disengaged from the fight against terrorism. The PTI rejects this and calls it a political takeover. The emergency suspended the PTI provincial government for an initial six months, with the governor taking charge.

Conclusion

The opposition meeting of 4 November was a small event with potentially large consequences. For the first time since emergency rule removed the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the main opposition parties sat together, agreed to form committees, and set a date for a bigger joint conference. They also put Imran Khan’s health at the top of their agenda, with a claim — his blood pressure reaching 192 — that remains unverified by any independent medical report.

Whether the conference produces a united opposition or another round of disagreement will become clear in the next 10 days. What is already clear is that Pakistan’s politics has entered a new phase: the fight over the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is no longer being waged by one party alone.

Sources

• Dawn (Kalbe Ali and Ikram Junaidi, 4 November 2026) — “‘United opposition’ gathers at Fazl’s Islamabad residence, vows stronger alliance” (reproduced at): https://www.itnews.website/united-opposition-gathers-at-fazls-islamabad-residence-vows-stronger-alliance.html
• Zark News — “Pakistan’s Opposition Agrees to Hold an All-Parties Conference Within 10 Days, Raising Imran Khan’s Health Again”: https://zarknews.com/pakistan-opposition-all-parties-conference-pti-imran-khan/
• Pak Insight Hub — “Opposition to hold all-parties conference”: http://pakinsighthub.blogspot.com/2026/11/opposition-to-hold-all-parties.html
• Zuhd News — “Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emergency, governor rule, opposition” (4 November 2026): https://www.zuhd.news/a/2026-11-04-pakistan-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-emergency-governor-rule-opposition
• Wikipedia — “2026 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state of emergency”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa_state_of_emergency

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.