Pakistan’s information minister warned Thursday that private contractors could face fines and legal action if they provide machinery to help opposition protesters remove road barricades during a planned march on Islamabad.

Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party plan to march on the capital on Sept. 27 to demand his release. Authorities have already placed shipping containers on roads leading into Islamabad and restricted traffic on several routes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northwestern province governed by PTI.

The Islamabad High Court directed provincial chief ministers to prevent public funds, officials, vehicles and machinery from being used to facilitate the march. The order is relevant to PTI’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from where supporters are expected to travel to Islamabad. The court also prohibited blocking roads and obstructing movement, but did not specifically bar private contractors from supplying machinery.

In a television interview Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar was asked what authorities would do if PTI instead hired private equipment to move the containers.

“If any private contractor gives them machinery, there will be fines and punishments against them,” Tarar said. “No private contractor is allowed to give them machinery to destroy the peace of the country, to spread anarchy.”

He said privately owned machinery would also be stopped and that legal proceedings would follow. Tarar did not specify which law would be used against a contractor or whether authorities had evidence that any firm had agreed to supply equipment.

The prospect of protesters removing containers has become a concern for authorities after PTI supporters used cranes to clear barricades during a previous march on Islamabad in November 2024. The government has pledged to prevent the Sept. 27 march from entering the capital, while PTI says it will proceed.

Khan has been jailed since August 2023 and faces convictions and charges in several cases. He denies wrongdoing, and his party says the cases against him are politically motivated.

The government denies interfering in judicial proceedings.