ISLAMABAD: Pakistani goods transporters warned on Thursday that road closures and vehicle seizures ahead of an opposition march on the capital were disrupting freight movement and could bring supply chains to a halt, as the government prepared contingency plans to keep fuel moving.

Authorities have tightened access to Islamabad ahead of a Sept. 27 march by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, blocking major routes with shipping containers, restricting motorway traffic and deploying thousands of security personnel.

The measures have focused particularly on routes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where Khan’s party is in power and from where many protesters are expected to travel to the capital.

Muhammad Owais Chaudhry, president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association, said transporters were avoiding sending vehicles to Islamabad, upper Punjab, KP and Kashmir because of vehicle seizures and restrictions on commercial traffic.

“Goods transporters are gripped by fear and uncertainty,” Chaudhry said in a statement. “If timely relief is not provided, the supply chain will come to a complete halt.”

Chaudhry said more than 2,000 vehicles had been seized in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Gujrat, Sialkot and other cities and called on authorities to immediately release loaded vehicles.

He also criticized restrictions on commercial vehicles on the M-1 motorway linking Islamabad and Peshawar, the KP provincial capital, and the M-2 motorway between Lahore and Islamabad.

The National Highways and Motorway Police said on Thursday the M-1 was closed between Swabi in KP and Islamabad, while heavy transport vehicles were barred from the M-2 between Kot Momin and the capital.

The motorway authority attributed both restrictions to the “law and order situation,” as authorities sought to prevent protesters from reaching Islamabad.

Chaudhry urged the government to establish a compensation mechanism for empty vehicles taken over by authorities.

More than 2,000 containers have been positioned at locations in Islamabad and Attock, a Punjab district bordering KP that serves as a key gateway between the northwestern province and the Islamabad-Rawalpindi region, as part of security preparations, including around major roads, highways and the capital’s high-security Red Zone.

PTI has called the Sept. 27 march to press for Khan’s release from prison. The former prime minister has been jailed since August 2023 and has faced a series of convictions and charges that he and his party say are politically motivated. The government denies targeting him for political reasons.

The disruption has also prompted the government to make contingency arrangements for essential fuel supplies.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Thursday directed authorities to prepare for possible interruptions to petroleum transportation in the event of road closures or security problems.

Pakistan Railways told a meeting chaired by Malik it would make the maximum number of train wagons available to transport high-speed diesel if road movement was disrupted, with particular emphasis on maintaining supplies to KP.

Pakistan State Oil said it had already positioned additional petroleum stocks at critical depots in anticipation of possible disruptions, while the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has established a control room to coordinate fuel supplies.

Malik also directed authorities to ensure uninterrupted crude oil supplies to Attock Refinery and movement of its finished products to prevent logistical constraints from forcing a shutdown.