Rangers in Islamabad and 4 Punjab districts until 5 October, 106 PTI workers held

Update, Thursday 24 September, night: The Ministry of Interior has now notified Rangers for Islamabad as well as the Punjab districts, from 20 September to 5 October. The notification cites Sections 7(b) and 10 of the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance 1959 and Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, and says deployed troops may respond in self-defence to threats or violence. The requests came from the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad and the Punjab Home Department.

Police in Rawalpindi division have detained 106 PTI workers for 30 days under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance, on District Intelligence Committee recommendations: 35 in Attock, 31 in Rawalpindi, 23 in Chakwal, 13 in Jhelum and 4 in Wah Cantt. They are being held in Adiala Jail.

Both sides hardened their lines on Thursday. Federal minister Rana Sanaullah said no one would be allowed to march on Islamabad and that there would be no talks until the march is postponed. PTI said the march goes ahead on 27 September, told workers not to bring sticks, slingshots or any weapon, and said it would disown anyone who does. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi called it a peaceful protest.

For you, nothing changes from the advice below: expect closures on the M-1, M-14 and GT Road near Attock, a mobile and internet shutdown in the twin cities and Attock on 26 and 27 September (details here), and Section 144 bans on gatherings of five or more.

The Punjab Home Department has written to the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control asking for Pakistan Rangers in four districts, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali, from 22 September to 5 October. The request follows the 59th Standing Committee meeting on Law and Order, which considered a situational review from police authorities and related court orders.

The deployment

• Rawalpindi: three companies, one for the city and two for Taxila.
• Attock: five wings, the heaviest presence of the four districts.
• Jhelum: one company.
• Mianwali: one company.

Separately, more than 22,000 security personnel are being deployed inside Islamabad.

The legal basis cited is Article 245 of the Constitution, Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, and Sections 7(b) and 10 of the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance 1959. Article 245 is the provision under which the federal government calls the armed forces in aid of civil power, and Section 4 of the ATA is what lets those forces exercise police powers while deployed.

Why now

PTI has called a march on Islamabad for 27 September, demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan. Jamaat-e-Islami deferred its own long march after a call from the prime minister, and PPP has said it will not join the 27 September call.

Attock getting five wings is the tell. The district sits on the Punjab side of the Attock bridge, which is where convoys from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cross into Punjab on the GT Road and the M-1.

If you are travelling this week

Six routes are already set to shut from 11pm on Wednesday, including stretches of the M-1, M-14 and E-35, plus GT Road, the Kohat road and Hassanabdal. The full interchange list is in our earlier story.

Practical advice for the next fortnight: if your travel is Rawalpindi to Peshawar or anywhere through Attock, assume the motorway can close at short notice and that the GT Road alternative will be slower than usual. Trains are the more reliable option on that corridor while road closures are in force, and Pakistan Railways booking runs through the RABTA app with a 90-day booking window. Keep your CNIC on you, since checkpoints on those four districts' entry points are the standard pattern during a Rangers deployment.

Fuel is worth planning too. Petrol is Rs 390.12 a litre after the 24 September notification (today's rate), so a long detour is not free. Our fuel cost calculator will price the alternative route before you commit to it.