Reporting snapshot · 22 September 2026. Islamabad Traffic Police announced on Tuesday that the Peshawar–Islamabad motorway (M-1) will be closed to all traffic from 11pm on Wednesday, 23 September, until further orders, as the government steps up security preparations ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) planned march on the capital on 27 September. The advisory gave no public reason or reopening date. This is a dated snapshot based on the advisory as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan and on coverage by Dawn, Geo News, The News International and The Express Tribune.
What happened
Islamabad Traffic Police advised motorists on Tuesday, 22 September, that the Peshawar–Islamabad motorway (M-1) will be closed to all types of traffic from 11pm on Wednesday, 23 September, until further orders, according to an official advisory reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan. Commuters from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining districts were told to avoid the M-1 and postpone non-essential journeys, while the M-2 motorway between Islamabad and Lahore will remain open to all traffic.
The advisory gave no reason. It came as the federal government finalised an extensive security operation ahead of PTI’s planned 27 September march on Islamabad, which demands the release of jailed founder Imran Khan. Dawn reported that more than 2,000 shipping containers have been deployed at key points in Islamabad and at Attock Bridge, the main entry point from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that police from Punjab and Sindh are being moved into the capital.
The M-1 closure and the routes that stay open
The M-1 is the principal road link between Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Peshawar and the northern areas, and carries heavy intercity, commuter and freight traffic. Under the advisory, it will be closed to all vehicles in both directions from 11pm on Wednesday, with no reopening date announced. Motorists were advised to plan journeys according to the latest traffic bulletins and follow traffic-police instructions.
The M-2 motorway linking Islamabad and Lahore will remain open. The contrast matters for travellers, although alternative routes are also tightening: Dawn reported that containers and sand-filled bags have been placed at Attock Bridge and Haroon Bridge, the main crossings between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, with sandbags on both sides of the GT Road and motorway routes near Haroon Bridge. Around 30,000 personnel are being deployed in Attock district.
Containers, police deployment and the capital’s lockdown
The M-1 closure is part of a broader lockdown of the capital’s road network. Dawn reported that more than 2,000 containers have been placed across Islamabad and at Attock Bridge, and a wall of containers surrounds the Red Zone. Police are welding the containers together and filling them with gravel and sand to make them hard to move, Geo News and The News reported. Around 1,000 containers are blocking entry points, major roads and the high-security zone from Margalla Road to Faisal Avenue, Khayaban-i-Suhrawardy and Third Avenue, as well as the Expressway and Srinagar Highway.
The operation extends beyond the containers. Islamabad police have requested Rs827 million for the planned protests by PTI, Jamaat-i-Islami and the Kissan Ittehad, and have asked Punjab for 16,000 personnel and 4,000 anti-riot kits and Sindh for 2,000 personnel and 3,000 kits. Punjab is providing about 19,000 officers after the federal government sought 23,000, and a Sindh contingent of about 1,950 was expected on Tuesday night. Police expect 20,000 to 25,000 protesters and must complete arrangements by the evening of 26 September.
The preparations are disrupting the twin cities. More than four dozen buildings, including government schools, have been acquired to lodge incoming police, and schools used for accommodation are closed from Tuesday. Metrobus services between Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been suspended and a high alert declared at PIMS and Polyclinic hospitals, The Express Tribune reported.
Preventive detentions and PTI’s response
Alongside the physical preparations, authorities have detained PTI figures. Islamabad Police have arrested MNA Adil Bazai, taking the number of detained PTI lawmakers in the capital to six, including Senator Saifullah Niazi and MNAs Sanaullah Masti Khel, Mian Ahsan Jamal, Dawar Kundi and Ghaus Muhammad, according to police sources cited by Geo News and The News. They are detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and shifted to Jhelum Jail, following the arrest of Imran Khan’s three sisters in Lahore under the same law.
PTI says it will not back down. With chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and leader Asad Qaiser in Peshawar on Monday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the party would continue: “We are standing firm and we will conduct a long march. No one can strip us of our democratic right to protest,” he said, according to Geo News. Gohar Khan urged authorities to avoid further arrests, warning the measures could aggravate the situation.
The government frames its response as enforcement of court orders. The Islamabad High Court has ruled that no party may occupy roads, highways, interchanges or toll plazas in a way that obstructs citizens’ movement or access to services. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi says the government will implement those orders if PTI proceeds and will adopt a permanent strategy to prevent prolonged disruption, warning the capital will not be shut for 10 to 20 days. The government’s handling of the 27 September protest threat remains a running point of contention, and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas has urged PM Shehbaz Sharif to form a committee of leaders so empowered teams from both sides can negotiate.
Why it matters
The closure of the M-1, one of Pakistan’s busiest motorway corridors, is the clearest sign yet of how far the government will go to control access to Islamabad before 27 September. For commuters, freight operators and travellers between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and the capital, the closure — with the Attock barricades and the mass police deployment — means long delays and disrupted supply chains for as long as it lasts. Politically, it sharpens a standoff between a government that says it is enforcing court orders and an opposition that insists on its right to march. Authorities expect the confrontation, which involves PTI, the JI levy campaign and farmers’ protests, to last about a week.
What is still uncertain
The key unknowns are when the M-1 will reopen and whether the closure will extend to other motorways. The advisory gave no reopening date or public reason, and the authorities have not formally linked the closure to the march, though the timing and surrounding preparations strongly suggest it is part of the security plan. How the closure interacts with PTI’s stated plan to reach Islamabad through multiple routes, and whether enforcement rather than negotiation will hold, also remains unclear. Court challenges to the detentions could reshape the build-up, and the practical effects on commuters and the economy depend on how long the restrictions last, which no official has said.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 22 September 2026. The M-1 closure account rests on the Islamabad Traffic Police advisory as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan and on Dawn's confirmation; security preparations are drawn from Dawn, Geo News, The News International and The Express Tribune. The authorities had not publicly linked the closure to the march when this article was prepared.
- APP — M-1 Motorway to close for all traffic from 11pm Wednesday, M-2 to remain open22 September 2026 · Primary record of the Islamabad Traffic Police advisory closing the M-1 from 11pm on 23 September until further orders, the advice to motorists, and the confirmation that the M-2 remains open.
- Dawn — Islamabad, Rawalpindi brace for protest as security preparations intensify22 September 2026 · Independent confirmation of the M-1 closure, the deployment of more than 2,000 containers, the Rs827 million police budget request, the school closures, and the Attock barricades.
- Geo News — Punjab, Sindh send police contingents to Islamabad as capital braces for PTI march22 September 2026 · Independent report of the police deployment, the welding of containers, the detention of six PTI lawmakers, and PTI's refusal to postpone the march.
- The News International — Major police deployment begins as Islamabad tightens security ahead of PTI march22 September 2026 · Independent corroboration of the police deployment, the MPO detentions, the container barricades, and the government's stance.
- The Express Tribune — Govt, PTI on warpath after 'once & for all' threat22 September 2026 · Independent report of the Red Zone sealing, the suspension of Metrobus services, the hospital alerts, and the educational-institution closures.
