# JI long march leaves Karachi: the stop-by-stop route to Islamabad, 20 to 24 September

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/politics/ji-long-march-2026-route-dates-twin-cities-closures)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 19 Sept 2026
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
Retrieved: 30 Sept 2026

> Hafiz Naeemur Rehman flagged the train off at Karachi Cantt on Sunday. Rohri tonight, Multan Monday, Lahore Tuesday, Islamabad Wednesday. The Red Zone is sealed and the twin cities shut from the 21st.

**Updated Sunday 20 September, 10:55pm.** The train march is on its way north. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman flagged it off at Karachi Cantt on Sunday morning and was due to address a gathering at Rohri at 8pm, after receptions at Hyderabad, Landhi, Nawabshah and Mehrabpur. Islamabad's Red Zone has been sealed, hundreds of containers are in place at the capital's entry points, and PIMS and the Federal Government Polyclinic are on high alert until 30 September. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that "no violent group will be allowed to come to Islamabad", citing the Islamabad High Court's orders on road closures, and said government roads would stay open. ARY News reported that trenches are being dug on routes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into the capital.

The demand has not changed: abolish the petroleum levy, which Hafiz Naeemur Rehman puts at more than Rs 100 a litre. "We demand that the levy extortion should end," he said on Sunday. "Petrol prices would then reduce quickly and reach around Rs 200 per litre." Petrol is Rs 389.14 today.

Sindh minister Nasir Shah publicly backed the protest against the levy on Sunday, which puts a PPP provincial minister on the same side of the argument as JI while the PPP sits in the federal coalition.

## The Karachi sit-in has ended

JI has wound up the protest camp it held outside the Governor House for 35 days against the petroleum levy and the independent power producer contracts. A party spokesperson said workers would join the long march from Sunday morning, travelling by train from Karachi under Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.

He warned on Saturday that the campaign to abolish the levy would turn into a movement to topple the government if the levy stays. JI's position after five rounds of talks is unchanged: temporary relief is not enough, the levy itself has to go.

For Karachi, the practical effect is that Governor House traffic returns to normal from today, while Cantt Station and the routes into it are the pressure point this morning.

## What the government says it costs

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb put a price on the protest season on Sunday: about Rs 120 billion a day off the exchequer, with goods exports of roughly $90 million a day at risk of being cut by up to half. [The full breakdown is here](/news/economy/aurangzeb-puts-the-protest-bill-at-rs-120bn-a-day-exports-at-risk-of-halving).

The demand is a single number: scrap the petroleum levy. Dawn reports the levy currently runs at Rs 114 a litre on petrol and Rs 100 a litre on diesel.

## Rawalpindi and Islamabad: what is closed, and when

The Rawalpindi district administration is planning for a closure window of **21 to 27 September**. If you live in the twin cities, this is the part that affects your week.

| What | Status |
|---|---|
| **Metro Bus and Green Electric Bus** | suspended |
| **Mobile internet** | to be shut down |
| **Schools, colleges, universities** | closed |
| **Transport and goods terminals** | closed |
| **Hotels, motels and markets** | closed |
| **Hospitals** | emergency declared, staff leave cancelled |

Spiked containers, fitted with eight-inch spikes, are going in at **Faizabad, Chungi No. 26, Rawat, Chakri, Adiala Road, Pirwadhai, Bharakahu and 17-Mile**. Those are the entry points to plan around, and Faizabad and Bharakahu are the two that cut ordinary commuting in half.

All 1,500 Safe City cameras in Rawalpindi have been activated, with drone monitoring on top. Rangers and Punjab Constabulary contingents have been deployed, and police have been issued rubber bullets and tear gas. Attock police have been given armoured vehicles.

If you need cash, medicine or fuel in the twin cities, get it before Monday. A mobile internet shutdown also takes down ride-hailing, delivery apps and most card machines that run on mobile data.

## What Rs 114 a litre means at the pump

Petrol is Rs 389.14 a litre, after OGRA's Rs 1.65 cut on 19 September. If the levy is Rs 114 of that, it is 29.3 percent of what you hand over at the pump. Diesel at Rs 424.04 carries Rs 100, or 23.6 percent.

Put it in a tank. A 40-litre fill of petrol costs Rs 15,565.60 today, and Rs 4,560 of it is the levy. A rickshaw driver burning 20 litres a week pays Rs 2,280 a week in levy alone, Rs 9,880 a month.

Work out your own number on our [fuel cost calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-cost-calculator), and the current pump price is on the [petrol price page](/data/petrol-price).

The levy is not a tax on profit or a sales tax that moves with the price. It is a fixed rupee amount per litre, which is why it does not fall when international crude falls. That is the whole of JI's argument.

## The route and the dates

| Date | Where |
| --- | --- |
| **Sunday 20 September** | Train leaves Karachi Cantt. Receptions at Hyderabad, Tando Adam, Nawabshah and Mehrabpur. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman addresses a gathering at Rohri at 8pm |
| Monday 21 September | Rohri to Multan. The train march ends at Multan with an address by the JI emir |
| Tuesday 22 September | Road caravan Multan to Lahore |
| Wednesday 23 September | Final leg, Lahore to Islamabad |
| Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September | Convergence on Islamabad |

That is JI's own schedule, as stated by Hafiz Naeemur Rehman. The Rawalpindi administration is preparing earlier than that, with the emir's train expected in Rawalpindi on Tuesday 22 September and closures running from the 21st.

Caravans from all four provinces are to merge and travel up the GT Road, with contingents from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Punjab joining. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said the party will not block roads during the march.

If you are travelling Karachi to Multan to Lahore to Islamabad on those dates, build in time. GT Road convoys on 22 and 23 September are the ones to plan around.

## What the government offered

The delegation at Mansoorah included Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Punjab minister Khawaja Salman Rafique. They asked JI to postpone on security grounds, pointing to the Kohat Police Lines attack and the wider threat picture, and promised what they called extraordinary relief soon, with an IMF delegation due.

JI said no. Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch said the march goes ahead unless the levy is abolished. JI has also said it wants a formal written proposal to scrap the levy, not a promise of relief.

JI has rejected the government's fuel relief scheme as insufficient. That scheme gives Rs 100 a litre back to motorcycles, rickshaws, three-wheelers and cars up to 800cc, capped at Rs 2,000 a month for two- and three-wheelers. JI's point is that it leaves the levy in place for everyone else and for every litre above the cap.

## The court order sitting over all of it

The Islamabad High Court has barred activities that restrict freedom of movement in the capital. That order covers this march and PTI's separate 27 September protest for Imran Khan. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has supported PTI's right to protest peacefully.

## What to watch

Whether the government moves on the levy before Wednesday. A cut announced in the 1 October fortnightly price review, or ahead of it, would be the off-ramp. The IMF programme is the constraint: the levy is one of the revenue measures the Fund has held Pakistan to, which is why "extraordinary relief soon" has been the offer for two weeks rather than a number.

## Frequently asked questions

**When does the JI long march reach Islamabad?**

23 and 24 September. The train march runs Karachi to Rohri on 20 September and Rohri to Multan on 21 September, a road caravan goes Multan to Lahore on 22 September, and the final leg from Lahore to Islamabad starts on 23 September.

**What exactly is Jamaat-e-Islami demanding?**

The complete abolition of the petroleum levy, which the party says exceeds Rs 100 a litre. JI emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman says scrapping it would bring petrol down to around Rs 200 a litre from Rs 389.14 today.

## Sources

- Govt, JI talks end inconclusively as Islamabad seeks delay in long march over security threats (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2031146/govt-ji-talks-end-inconclusively-as-islamabad-seeks-delay-in-long-march-over-security-threats
- Twin cities on tenterhooks as JI vows 'sea of people' (The Express Tribune): https://tribune.com.pk/story/2630280/twin-cities-on-tenterhooks-as-ji-vows-sea-of-people
- JI's long march to reach Islamabad on Sept 23-24, says Hafiz Naeem (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/682594-jis-long-march-to-reach-islamabad-on-sept-23-24-says-hafiz-naeem
- JI to proceed with Islamabad march unless govt offers formal proposal to scrap levy (The Express Tribune): https://tribune.com.pk/story/2630222/government-ji-talks-end-without-breakthrough-on-long-march
- Jamaat-e-Islami calls off Karachi sit-in (ARY News): https://arynews.tv/jamaat-e-islami-calls-off-karachi-sit-in
- Marches, sit-ins may cause Rs120bn daily loss to exchequer, warns FinMin Aurangzeb (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/682865-marches-sit-ins-may-cause-rs120bn-daily-loss-to-exchequer-warns-finmin-aurangzeb
- JI kicks off long march towards Islamabad against petroleum levy (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/682873-ji-kicks-off-long-march-towards-islamabad-against-petroleum-levy
- JI launches protest march towards Islamabad against petroleum levy (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2031346/ji-launches-protest-march-towards-islamabad-against-petroleum-levy
- Tarar warns no violent group will be allowed to enter Islamabad (The Express Tribune): https://tribune.com.pk/story/2630368/tarar-warns-no-violent-group-will-be-allowed-to-enter-islamabad
- Nasir Shah backs Jamaat Islami's protest against petroleum levy (ARY News): https://arynews.tv/nasir-shah-backs-jamaat-islamis-protest-petroleum-levy

How to cite: "JI long march leaves Karachi: the stop-by-stop route to Islamabad, 20 to 24 September", Searchable, 25 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/politics/ji-long-march-2026-route-dates-twin-cities-closures