Pakistan Locks Down Islamabad Ahead of Imran Khan's Party Protest March

Pakistani authorities moved to seal off the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday, deploying thousands of security personnel and blocking major roads with shipping containers ahead of a planned weekend demonstration by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

A city under lockdown

Officials said around 22,000 security personnel were deployed across Islamabad, with key highways, entry points and intersections obstructed by double-stacked shipping containers. The measures also cut off access between the capital and the neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), governs. Commuters were left stuck in traffic for hours, with motorbike riders squeezing through gaps between containers to get around the barricades.

The show of force comes ahead of a march planned for Sunday, which PTI has billed as its first major street mobilisation in months to press for Khan's release from prison.

Family members and activists detained

The government's crackdown intensified earlier this week with the detention of three of Khan's sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi — under a public order ordinance in Punjab province. Authorities accused them of mobilising supporters through social media and inciting action against state institutions. PTI's information secretary said close to 1,500 party activists and several lawmakers and regional leaders had been rounded up across Punjab and Islamabad in the run-up to the protest.

Pakistan's information minister denied that the capital was being placed under a formal lockdown, telling reporters that protesters simply did not need to travel to Islamabad and that no one would be allowed to shut the city down.

Rights groups raise alarm

International human rights organisations have repeatedly flagged concerns over press censorship, mass arrests and shrinking civil liberties in Pakistan amid the prolonged standoff between the government and PTI. Advocacy groups have described the detention of Khan's family members and party workers as a violation of their rights to liberty and peaceful assembly.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, has been in custody since August 2023 and faces numerous charges ranging from corruption to incitement, which he and his legal team say are politically motivated. He was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 after falling out with Pakistan's military leadership, and has since accused the army chief of orchestrating a sustained campaign against him. His family has said his health has deteriorated in custody, including significant vision loss in one eye.

A single march, after a merger of grievances falls apart

A separate demonstration planned by the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party and farmers' groups over rising fuel prices and inflation was called off this week following talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government, leaving PTI to march alone on Sunday. The standoff underscores the deep political polarisation that has gripped Pakistan since Khan's removal from office, with implications for the country's economic stability and its ongoing engagement with international lenders as investors watch how the government manages the unrest.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.