By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has tightened security and blocked major routes into the capital ahead of a planned long march by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), escalating tensions between the government and supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Authorities have placed shipping containers and other barriers at key entry points to Islamabad, while major highways and roads linking the capital with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been closed at several locations. The measures are aimed at preventing PTI supporters from reaching Islamabad for the Sept. 27 protest, according to Pakistani media reports.

The government has also imposed restrictions on public gatherings. Islamabad authorities imposed Section 144 on Sept. 18, prohibiting gatherings of five or more people, processions, rallies and demonstrations across the capital, including the Red Zone.

The PTI says its protest is focused on the release of Khan and what it describes as political and legal injustice against its leadership. The party is also demanding improved medical treatment for its founder and former prime minister.

Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 following a series of criminal convictions. He and his party have denied wrongdoing in the cases and have described the prosecutions as politically motivated.

The dispute over his health intensified in August when Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer Khan from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board.

The court directed that the transfer take place within two days and said Khan’s personal physician and sister could remain involved in his medical care.

However, Khan was instead taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and subsequently returned to Adiala Jail after a medical board declared him fit, according to Pakistani media reports. The PTI and Khan’s family have accused the government of failing to implement the Supreme Court's directive concerning Shifa Hospital.

The Supreme Court later reiterated that its Shifa Hospital transfer order remained in force, according to a Sept. 16 report.

The PTI is also pressing for Khan’s pending legal cases to be heard, including bail proceedings before the Islamabad High Court.

The party says the legal process and restrictions on Khan’s access to medical care and family members have contributed to the current political confrontation.

The government, meanwhile, says it will not allow the planned march to proceed into Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s political adviser Rana Sanaullah said Thursday that formal negotiations with the PTI could not proceed unless the party postponed the Sept. 27 march.

Government preparations include additional security deployments and restrictions on movement. The federal government has reportedly approved a request to deploy Rangers personnel in parts of Punjab to assist police in maintaining law and order during the protest.

The standoff has already led to arrests of PTI-linked figures and Khan’s family members. Three of Khan’s sisters were detained earlier this week amid the government crackdown ahead of the planned demonstration.

The government has said it will take measures to prevent violence and protect public order, while PTI leaders have vowed to continue their campaign for Khan’s release and to march toward the capital.

Islamabad is therefore entering the final days before Sept. 27 under heightened security, with blocked roads, containers, restrictions on gatherings and competing demands for negotiations and protest.

The confrontation will test whether the government and PTI can avoid a renewed clash between protesters and security forces while the legal and medical disputes surrounding Pakistan’s most prominent jailed opposition leader remain unresolved