More than 5,000 PTI supporters began a days-long march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa towards Islamabad.
Pakistan has deployed police and paramilitary personnel and placed shipping containers along key routes into the capital.
The march follows failed talks between the PTI and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, with both sides offering different accounts of why negotiations collapsed.
Thousands Of Imran Khan Supporters Head Towards Islamabad Amid Security Crackdown
Thousands of Imran Khan supporters have begun a march towards Islamabad demanding his release, as Pakistan deploys security forces and barricades key routes into the capital
Summary
The road to Islamabad is filling with people, vehicles and the familiar colours of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). More than 5,000 supporters of the jailed former prime minister began a days-long march from northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, heading towards the capital and demanding his release, AP News reported.
The march began in Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province governed by Khan’s party, after negotiations between the PTI and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government failed to produce an agreement. Provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is leading the convoy, which is travelling in trucks, buses and cars and is expected to make several stops before reaching Islamabad.
A Convoy Heads For A Barricaded Capital
Islamabad, meanwhile, has been preparing for the arrival. Steel shipping containers have been placed along roads and at key entry points, turning familiar routes into walls of metal. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed around the capital, while the government has said it will not allow the marchers to enter.
The containers are more than barriers; they have become a recurring symbol of Pakistan’s political confrontations. Ahead of the march, authorities had already positioned them around the Red Zone, home to Parliament, government offices and foreign embassies. The PTI’s previous large-scale protest in 2024 ended in deadly clashes with security forces.
The latest standoff comes against a backdrop of rising militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said negotiations collapsed over the PTI government’s approach to counter-terrorism in the province. The PTI disputes that account, saying the government sought to pressure it into concessions, according to Reuters.
The Man Behind The March
Khan, 74, has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in several cases. He and his party say the charges are politically motivated, while the government and military reject the claim that he is a political prisoner. Reuters reported that all but one of his convictions have since been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending.
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The former cricket star remains a powerful political presence despite being behind bars. His supporters are demanding not only his release but also his transfer to a hospital and greater access for his family. Officials say he is in good health and receives regular family visits.
For now, the march moves towards a capital already fortified against it. Somewhere between the convoy in the northwest and the containers around Islamabad lies the question Pakistan has faced repeatedly: how far can a political movement travel when the road ahead has already been blocked?
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