PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s political party said on Friday it had postponed a planned march on Islamabad by a week to Oct. 4, after authorities blocked key routes and took sweeping security measures to stop its supporters from reaching the federal capital.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had called supporters to march on Islamabad on Sept. 27 to demand Khan’s release, prompting authorities to restrict routes from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), detain party workers and deploy paramilitary forces in Islamabad and parts of Punjab.

KP is ruled by PTI, though the party remains in opposition at the national level and in Punjab.

“Our political committee meeting is underway, and all these matters have been discussed,” KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told a news conference. “Our political committee has unanimously agreed on this, and, God willing, our long march will depart from Peshawar on Sunday, Oct. 4.”

The announcement ended uncertainty over the protest after party leaders had publicly given conflicting signals over whether the Sept. 27 march would go ahead. Local media earlier on Friday, citing party sources, reported that the political committee had agreed to defer it despite a majority initially favoring the original date.

A senior PTI leader told Dawn there had been a proposal to “exhaust the federal government and law enforcement agencies,” arguing that authorities had already blocked Islamabad and major approaches to the capital ahead of the march.

PTI leaders have said they are seeking Khan’s release.

The former Pakistani prime minister has been jailed since August 2023 on a range of charges. He denies wrongdoing, while PTI says the prosecutions are politically motivated. The government denies interfering in judicial proceedings.

A senior PTI leader and former federal minister, Zulfikar Bukhari, said his party held the element of surprise over the timing of the Oct. 4 march.

“We can protest sooner or even a few days after,” he said. “The ball is in our court.”