The Pakistan government on Friday took measures to prevent supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a rally in Islamabad, seeking his release from prison.
It would be the latest in a series of protest rallies since last month to press for Khan’s release and agitate against the ruling coalition government, which Imran Khan’s party calls illegitimate, saying it was formed after a fraudulent election.
Shipping containers were placed on key roads and highways leading to the capital, and Internet services were suspended in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi. Schools in both cities were also shut down.
Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi warned Khan’s party to cancel the planned protest, saying that there would be “no leniency” if the ban on protests is defied. He accused armed supporters of Khan of marching on Islamabad with the intention of launching an assault on the capital. “They should think what they are going to do with Pakistan by marching on Islamabad with weapons,” he said. “I am very clear that they are going launch an assault on Islamabad,” Naqvi said.
Naqvi urged Imran Khan’s party to postpone their rally to avoid disrupting the capital city’s preparations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting on October 15 and 16.
Naqvi said that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would visit, followed by a high-profile Saudi delegation and Chinese Premier Li Qiang ahead of the conference. Naqvi said “We can’t allow any chaos,” as it would send a negative message to the world.
Despite a ban on rallies imposed this week, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party refused to withdraw its call for the protest. Videos posted online showed police placing blockades on a key highway near the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan’s party holds power.
Khan called on his supporters to gather outside parliament, undeterred by potential obstacles. In a post on X on Friday, he urged, “I want you all to reach D-Chowk today for a peaceful protest rally,” adding that “this war has entered a decisive phase.”
Lahore’s D-Chowk or Democracy Chowk is known in Pakistan as the place where various protests routinely take place. In the past, Imran Khan had a 126-day sit-in protest here in 2014.

Police reportedly arrested some party supporters and used force to prevent rallygoers from entering the capital.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who remains a popular figure despite facing more than 150 police cases, has been in prison for over a year. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament and arrested in 2023 after a court sentenced him to 3 years in a graft case. Critics and his party claim the cases are politically motivated.
The suspension of cellphone service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi caused disruptions to basic services and made travel difficult due to the obstacles placed on the roads.
Khan’s spokesman, Zulfiqar Bukhari, rejected the government’s demand to withdraw the call for the protest, asserting their constitutional right to hold a peaceful rally. A message on Khan’s social media account urged supporters to join the protest, “The tyrants in power want to terrorize us. So go forth fearlessly, and remember if you still hesitate, to step forward and truly liberate yourself.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif‘s government says that Khan’s party aims to weaken the country’s economy through violent protests despite the threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban.
Despite Imran Khan being in jail since August 2023, candidates supported by him secured the most seats in the general election held in February. However, their numbers were not enough to form a government.
His opponents, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed a coalition government instead.