Imran Khan's party postpones planned Islamabad march to October 4

Earlier this week, Pakistan curbed access to its capital, Islamabad, by blocking major highways with shipping containers and deploying tens of thousands of security forces

PUBLISHED: Sat 26 Sept 2026, 9:49 AM

By:
Reuters

Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has postponed a planned long march from Peshawar to Islamabad until October 4, the chief minister of the PTI-ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Sohail Afridi, told reporters on Friday.

Earlier this week, Pakistan curbed access to its capital, Islamabad, by blocking major highways with shipping containers and deploying tens of thousands of security forces, ahead of the march planned by Khan's supporters.

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PTI had planned to begin the march on September 27 to press for the release of Khan, who has been in jail since 2023. The PTI's last large-scale protest two years ago ended in deadly clashes with security forces. Party spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari, however, told Reuters that although they had moved the planned date to October 4, they could launch the march earlier.

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"We can now do it whenever we deem fit. The question is to the government, as to how long they're willing to keep the country closed off?", Bukhari said. Authorities have detained three of Khan's sisters and hundreds of party activists in recent days, citing a need to maintain public order. Khan, 73, a former cricket star ousted by parliament in a 2022 no-confidence vote, has claimed to be a political prisoner.