Pakistan Locks Down Islamabad to Block PTI Protest March

The Government of Pakistan has implemented a massive security lockdown of Islamabad and surrounding regions to block a planned long march by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) scheduled for September 27. Authorities deployed over 60,000 security personnel across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Attock, while sealing the capital's Red Zone with more than 2,000 shipping containers and sandbags. Major transport arteries, including the M-1, M-14, and the Grand Trunk Road, were closed indefinitely to sever links with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

To further stifle the mobilization, the government imposed Section 144 across Punjab and Islamabad, banning public gatherings of five or more people. The crackdown included the 30-day preventive detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's sisters—Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen Niazi—along with approximately 1,500 party activists. The government also requested the deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, and Mianwali until October 5 and sought to downgrade mobile and internet services.

The PTI maintains that the march will proceed to demand the release of Imran Khan, citing his deteriorating health and politically motivated convictions. While Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned that the party would achieve nothing through such "drama," PTI leaders characterized the detentions as a brutal crackdown. The government defended the measures as precautionary, citing intelligence reports of potential militant attacks on public gatherings and the need to prevent the occupation of public roads.