Islamabad police on Tuesday announced that the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) will be closed for all types of traffic from 11 p.m. on Sept. 23 (today) “until further orders.”
“Those traveling from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and from other areas, should avoid using the M-1 and postpone non-essential travel,” read the advisory posted on X. It noted that the M-2 Motorway between Lahore and Islamabad would remain open and advised motorists to plan their journeys in light of this information.
While the advisory did not specify any reason for the closure, it comes ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s planned long march to Islamabad on Sept. 27. The PTI’s march aims to secure the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. Over the past week, the federal government has launched a crackdown to deter the demonstration, with at least six MNAs arrested from Islamabad. Additionally, Khan’s sisters have been arrested in Lahore, and the PTI has alleged several MPAs have been “abducted.”
Ahead of the protest, authorities have placed containers around the federal capital, particularly the entry point from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at Attock Bridge. Several federal ministers, including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, have also warned the PTI that it would not be permitted to shut down Islamabad.
Originally the PTI’s march was due to coincide with two other marches to Islamabad—one by the Jamaat-e-Islami and the second by the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad. The former, however, suspended its long march in Multan, warning it could resume in October pending results of a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif upon his return to Pakistan from New York, where he’s attending the United Nations General Assembly.