PTI march on 4 October: M-1, M-14 and GT Road to reopen from 6am Sunday

Update, Saturday 26 September 2026, 7:00pm PKT: roads to reopen from 6am Sunday. Daily Pakistan reported on Saturday that the M-1, M-14 and E-35 motorways and the GT Road will reopen for traffic from 6am on Sunday 27 September, now that PTI has moved its march to 4 October. Until then the closures below still apply, and the report did not say when the Attock bridges or the containers inside Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be cleared. Before any trip between Islamabad, Peshawar and Hazara on Sunday morning, check the motorway police helpline 130 for the current motorway status.

Update, Saturday 26 September 2026, 12:45pm PKT: the march is on 4 October, but the roads into Islamabad are still sealed. The Nation reported on Saturday that more than 35,000 Punjab police from several districts are deployed in Attock, and that all main and link roads between Attock district and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are closed, including the GT Road, Attock Bridge, the Khushal Garh bridge and the Attock Khurd bridge over the Indus. Hundreds of containers and steel barriers fitted with nails are in place. More than 40 government schools and colleges in Attock were closed to house the police.

On Friday, PTI workers on the KP side of Attock Bridge pulled away barriers and threw them into the river, the paper reported. Patients, traders and daily-wage workers crossing between Punjab and KP are the worst hit. If you must travel between Peshawar and Islamabad this weekend, there is no open road crossing at Attock; call the motorway police on 130 before setting out.

Update, Friday 25 September 2026, 10:45pm PKT: it is 4 October, and it is now official. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced at a press conference in Peshawar on Friday evening that PTI's Islamabad march is postponed from Sunday 27 September to Sunday 4 October, and will start from Peshawar that day, Dawn and ARY News reported. The party's political committee agreed the delay unanimously. Earlier reports from party sources had given 5 October; the date Afridi announced is 4 October.

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the delay showed PTI was not prepared and dared the party to come and protest, Dawn reported. He also accused the KP government of facilitating terrorists.

Earlier, 6:45pm PKT: PTI's political committee, meeting at the KP Chief Minister's House in Peshawar, decided to push the march back after consulting the opposition leaders, Mahmood Khan Achakzai in the National Assembly and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in the Senate.

Roads are still closed. The postponement has not reopened anything yet. On Friday evening the M-1 was still shut between the Islamabad Toll Plaza and Chachh Interchange, the M-14 between Hakla and Kundal, and the GT Road at Attock Khurd, Pakistan Observer reported. A motorway police spokesperson said no reopening time could be given. The M-2 (Islamabad to Lahore) is open for light vehicles, and T-Chowk into Islamabad from Rawalpindi was partly reopened for light traffic on Friday.

What changes for you this weekend

• Travel: plan as if the closures listed below stay until the government says otherwise. Call the motorway police helpline 130 before any trip to Peshawar, Attock or Hazara.
• Phones and internet: Aaj News reported that the government decided against suspending internet services straight away and will wait and see. Earlier notices had planned a shutdown or jamming on 26 and 27 September in parts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Attock (background). Until a withdrawal is notified, keep cash on you and download offline maps.
• Universities: the online-teaching notices below were issued for the march. Several run "until further notice", so check your university's portal on Saturday before you travel on Monday.
• Rangers and Section 144: Rangers stay deployed in Islamabad and four Punjab districts until 5 October (details), which covers the new 4 October march date. Section 144 remains in force in Islamabad.

Why PTI delayed

A senior PTI leader told Dawn the idea was to keep the government and the police stretched, since the capital had already been closed down at great cost. Aaj News reported that KP members also proposed an All-Parties Conference in early October. Earlier in the week PTI lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha had said a delay was possible if the government accepted elections within six to eight months, the release of political prisoners and an inquiry into the 9 May and 26 November events; party spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram had said only Imran Khan could decide a postponement.

On Friday, Supreme Court lawyer Mian Shafqat Jan also petitioned the Islamabad High Court to reopen the M-1 for emergency services, lawyers and litigants, arguing that closing a motorway without a written order is unconstitutional, Dawn reported. No hearing date had been set.

Motorways and highways closed

The National Highways and Motorway Police listed these closures on 24 September, in force until further notice:

• M-1 (Islamabad to Peshawar): closed between the Islamabad Toll Plaza and Chachh Interchange, with the Fateh Jang/Tarnol, Sangjani, Brahma Bahtar, Burhan, Hazara Motorway, Ghazi and Chachh interchanges shut.
• M-14 (CPEC motorway): closed between Hakla and Kundal.
• N-5 GT Road: closed at Attock Khurd.
• Rawalpindi-Kohat Road: blocked at Khushal Garh.
• Abbottabad-Hassan Abdal route: restricted at Jhari Kas.

Inside the twin cities, containers were placed at Faizabad, on the Srinagar Highway, Ninth Avenue, the Islamabad Expressway, Murree Road, Tarnol, Sangjani, 26 Number Chungi, T-Chowk Rawat and around the Red Zone. Expect detours and budget more fuel than usual: our fuel cost calculator works out a trip at today's petrol price.

Universities that went online

According to notices compiled by ProPakistani, these institutions moved teaching online from Friday, 25 September:

Online until further notice: HITEC University Taxila, COMSATS (Islamabad, Wah and Attock campuses), PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, KMU Islamabad campus, Hamdard University Islamabad campus, University of Poonch Jhelum campus, UET Taxila, National Skills University Islamabad and the University of Wah.

Online on Friday 25 September only: NUML Islamabad, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Watim Medical and Dental College, Federal Urdu University, FAST and Rawalpindi Women University.

Online from Friday to Sunday (25 to 27 September): Air University, Fazaia Medical College, Bahria University, International Islamic University Islamabad, NUTECH, Fatima Jinnah Women University and AIOU.

Schools

In Rawalpindi, the Deputy Commissioner said schools stay open after the police withdrew a request to house security personnel in school buildings. In Islamabad, the administration took over 24 government schools, including buildings in G-7 and F-7/3, to lodge security staff; students of those schools are on online work. Wait for your school's own message before Monday.