Reporting snapshot · 23 September 2026. The Punjab government imposed Section 144 across the province for 13 days, from 23 September to 5 October, banning gatherings of five or more people in public places, and simultaneously asked the federal government to deploy Pakistan Rangers in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali and to downgrade mobile and internet services in parts of Rawalpindi and Attock from 27 September. The account rests on the Punjab Home Department notification and correspondence as reported by The Express Tribune, Dawn, Geo News and SAMAA. Whether the federal government approves the mobile and internet downgrade, and how the restrictions are enforced during PTI's planned 27 September march, remains to be seen; this is a dated snapshot, not a live tracker.
What happened
The Punjab government imposed Section 144 across the province for 13 days, from 23 September to 5 October, banning gatherings of five or more people in any public place, street, road, highway, motorway or open space, according to a notification issued by the Punjab Home Department. The same notification, reported in detail by The Express Tribune and SAMAA, also prohibits carrying or displaying weapons in public places and encouraging people to participate in prohibited gatherings.
The order was issued by the Secretary Home under Section 144(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The Home Department said the restrictions were imposed in view of a “serious and imminent threat to public peace, tranquility, and the safety of life & property across the Province of Punjab by militant/ terrorist organizations and Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs).” It said multiple threat alerts had been received from intelligence agencies about possible terrorist activity planned through suicide bombers and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), and that assemblies, rallies, gatherings, sit-ins, processions, demonstrations and public meetings could present potential targets for such attacks.
What the order covers, and what it exempts
The ban applies to gatherings, rallies, processions, sit-ins and demonstrations of five or more people at public places, on roads and highways, and in open spaces across Punjab. The Home Department notification also bans the carrying and display of all types of weapons in public places and the incitement of people to attend prohibited gatherings.
Several categories of activity are exempt. Wedding ceremonies, funeral prayers, burial gatherings and prayers in mosques and other places of worship are not covered. Courts of law, government institutions, and events held with formal permission are also exempt, as are law-enforcement, intelligence and security personnel performing official duties.
The order is the latest in a series of provincial restrictions this month. Punjab had earlier imposed a similar province-wide Section 144 from 13 to 17 September before a visit by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. Wednesday’s order is longer — 13 days — and runs through 5 October, straddling the date of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned march on Islamabad on 27 September.
Rangers deployment request
Alongside the gathering ban, the Punjab government has asked the federal government to deploy Pakistan Rangers in four districts: Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali. According to the Punjab Home Department, a letter to the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control seeks three Rangers companies for Rawalpindi (one for Rawalpindi city and two for Taxila), five wings for Attock, and one company each for Jhelum and Mianwali. The troops would remain deployed until 5 October.
The Home Department said the deployment was approved at the 59th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Law & Order (SCCLO), held on 20 September. The request is made under Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and Sections 7(b) and 10 of the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance, 1959. Dawn reported that the letter to the interior ministry was sent following a request from Punjab Police for assistance in maintaining security, and noted that more than 22,000 security personnel led by eight DIGs are expected in the federal capital and over 30,000 in Attock district, which connects Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab.
Mobile and internet downgrade request
In a separate request reported by Geo News and The Express Tribune, the Punjab Home Department has asked the federal government to downgrade and jam mobile and internet services at selected locations in Rawalpindi and Attock from 27 September for law-and-order purposes. The request covers 2G, 3G and 4G network jamming at specified locations in Rawalpindi and a downgrade of services in Attock, including along the motorway at areas such as Barahma Bahtar to the M-1, Gango, Ahata, Taxila City, Wah Saddar, Thallian and Chakri.
The request is a request, not a decision. Whether the federal Ministry of Interior approves the downgrade, and on what terms, has not been announced. SAMAA reported that the provincial government has also requisitioned Rangers support for Lahore as part of the same security package, while arrests of PTI workers continue in the city, including the 30-day detention of PTI Labour Wing president Arshad Bhatti.
Why it matters
The order and the accompanying requests mark the fullest provincial expression yet of the security build-up around PTI’s planned 27 September march. The federal government has already closed the M-1, M-14 and GT Road from Wednesday evening to stop protesters reaching the capital, placed containers around Islamabad, and deployed tens of thousands of additional personnel in and around the capital. The Punjab measures extend that posture across the province’s own territory, targeting the routes and districts — Attock and Rawalpindi above all — through which any march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would have to pass.
The explicit threat rationale matters too. The notification justifies the ban on the basis of intelligence warnings about terrorist attacks on public gatherings rather than the march itself, a framing that broadens the legal basis for restricting political activity. The inclusion of a weapons ban and the mobile-internet downgrade request indicate the provincial government is preparing for a prolonged and potentially confrontational period around 27 September, consistent with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s public warning that police had been told to respond forcefully if the march turns violent.
What is still uncertain
The most important open questions are whether the federal government approves the Rangers deployment and the mobile-internet downgrade, and on what terms; how the gathering ban is enforced across the province, particularly in cities far from the march route; and whether the order is extended beyond 5 October. The Home Department has not published the full intelligence warnings cited in the notification, and the claims about planned attacks cannot be independently verified.
It is also unclear how the restrictions interact with the wider standoff. Jamaat-e-Islami has postponed the next phase of its own long march at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request, while PTI’s leadership says the 27 September march will proceed despite the blockade. The provincial order will make any gathering in Punjab subject to the ban from today, but the decisive test of both the order and the security build-up will come on and around 27 September. This article is a dated snapshot of the position as of the evening of 23 September.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 23 September 2026. The account of the Section 144 order, the Rangers deployment request and the mobile-internet downgrade request rests on the Punjab Home Department notification and correspondence as reported by The Express Tribune, Dawn, Geo News and SAMAA. The intelligence warnings cited in the notification have not been published and cannot be independently verified.
- The Express Tribune — Punjab imposes Section 144 across province until Oct 5, seeks Rangers' deployment23 September 2026 · Primary account of the Home Department notification: the 13-day ban on gatherings of five or more, the threat rationale, the exemptions, the Rangers deployment request for four districts and the mobile-internet downgrade request for Rawalpindi and Attock.
- Dawn — Punjab govt seeks Rangers deployment in Rawalpindi, three other districts until Oct 523 September 2026 · Independent report of the Rangers deployment letter to the interior ministry, the company and wing numbers for each district, the SCCLO approval, and the wider security deployment in the federal capital and Attock.
- Geo News — Punjab 'seeks mobile, internet shutdown' amid PTI's proposed long march23 September 2026 · Independent confirmation of the mobile and internet downgrade request for areas of Rawalpindi and Attock from 27 September, the Rangers request and the province-wide Section 144 order.
- SAMAA — Punjab imposes Section 144, seeks Rangers ahead of PTI protest23 September 2026 · Independent report of the order's scope and exemptions, the weapons ban, the Rangers requisition including Lahore, and the detention of PTI Labour Wing president Arshad Bhatti.
