Imran Khan's PTI postpones planned Islamabad march to October 4
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has postponed its planned protest march from Peshawar to Islamabad until October 4. The party is demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, while authorities have responded by restricting access to the capital and detaining party activists.
Why it matters
The ongoing political instability in Pakistan, characterized by protests and government crackdowns, has significant implications for the country's democratic stability.
Jailed former 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 (September 25, 2026).
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.
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.
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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