Islamabad, September 22, 2026: Islamabad Police on Tuesday issued a traffic advisory announcing the closure of the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) to all types of traffic from 11pm on September 23.
In an advisory posted on X, police urged people travelling from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other areas to avoid using the M-1 and postpone non-essential travel.
The police said the Lahore-Islamabad M-2 Motorway would remain open to all types of traffic and advised motorists to keep the development in mind while planning their journeys.
The closure comes ahead of a planned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march to Islamabad on September 27, which the party has announced to demand the release of its founder, Imran Khan.
Authorities have already placed around 2,000 shipping containers at various points in the federal capital and at Attock Bridge, a key entry point for traffic coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern areas.
On Monday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned the PTI against proceeding with its planned march, urging the party to reconsider the protest.
“We have clearly told them (PTI) that they can never achieve anything through such drama, and I will say again that there is still time; they should not go into this situation,” Naqvi said during a press briefing.
He advised the PTI leadership not to “enter a dead-end street” and said the government would not “leave any loopholes” in its response if the party went ahead with the protest.
Meanwhile, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which had also announced a long march to Islamabad against the petroleum levy, said on Tuesday that it had postponed the next phase of its march at the request of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, pending a meeting with him.
