Pakistan has locked down its capital and sealed routes across Islamabad and Punjab ahead of a planned protest march by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, Bloomberg reports. Rangers have been deployed in both regions as authorities moved to block the demonstration, according to The Nation.
The march, organized by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had been set for September 27. Dawn reports that PTI has since decided to postpone the long march. Al Jazeera described the government's pre-march crackdown as a "source of anxiety."
The standoff had drawn calls for restraint from within PTI's own ranks. The Express Tribune reports that Gohar urged the government to listen before the September 27 showdown, appealing for engagement ahead of the planned protest.
Khan has been imprisoned, and his party's supporters have sought to press for his release through street demonstrations. The government's response — closing roads and calling in paramilitary forces — reflects the tension surrounding the planned gathering, which officials had expected to draw crowds toward the capital.
With the march now postponed, attention shifts to whether PTI and the government will pursue talks or reschedule the protest. What to watch next: whether the lockdown is lifted and whether PTI sets a new date for the march.
