Authorities in Pakistan have begun sealing off the main roads into Islamabad to prevent supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan from reaching the capital. Police announced on Wednesday that the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway, the Islamabad-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, and the Grand Trunk Road would be closed at several points starting in the evening, urging the public to plan travel accordingly.
Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper, reported that the closures are indefinite and aimed at blocking supporters of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), from marching to the capital on September 27. The protesters are demanding the release of Khan, who has been jailed since August 2023 following a series of convictions that his party claims are politically motivated. Most of these convictions have since been suspended or overturned on appeal.
Concerns regarding Khan's health, particularly the condition of his right eye which has required months of specialist treatment, have prompted the party’s campaign for his release. The planned marches are expected to commence from Karachi, approximately 1,150 km (715 miles) to the southwest, and from Lahore, around 270 km (170 miles) to the southeast.
Authorities have placed about 2,000 shipping containers around the capital and at Attock Bridge, a crossing from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Containers and sandbags have also been positioned at Haroon Bridge, another key crossing between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, with nearly 30,000 security personnel deployed in the Attock district.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, noted that the government had urged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to reconsider its plans. However, the PTI maintains that peaceful protest is their constitutional right and that they are advocating for the release of their leader, Imran Khan, to uphold the constitution.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned the PTI against the protest on Monday, stating, "we have clearly told them that they can never achieve anything through such drama." He added, "I will say again that there is still time; they should not go into this situation."
On Sunday, police arrested Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, at her home in Lahore under a public order law. Two other sisters, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, were also arrested, along with several other relatives.
Separately, Jamaat-e-Islami, another opposition party, began its own march from Karachi to Islamabad on Sunday to protest high fuel prices. Before departing by train, the party’s leader, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, warned that if the government did not eliminate a levy on petroleum exceeding 100 rupees ($0.36) per litre (0.26 gallons), the protest could escalate into a campaign to topple the government. However, after reaching Multan in Punjab province on Monday night, Rehman announced on Tuesday that the party would postpone its march at the request of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif until the two could meet.