Roads Closed Around Islamabad: M-1, M-14 and GT Road Shut From 23 September

Six main roads into Islamabad have been closed since 11pm on Wednesday 23 September 2026, until further notice. They are the M-1, M-14 and E-35 motorways, the N-5 GT Road at Attock Khurd, the Rawalpindi-Kohat Road and the Abbottabad-Hassanabdal Road. The M-2 from Lahore stays open for cars.

Islamabad Traffic Police announced the list on 23 September, according to news reports. The police notice itself was not on an official website we could open, so the closure points below are as reported. The closures came ahead of a march on Islamabad that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had called for 27 September. The party is demanding the release of its founder, Imran Khan.

Update, 18:45 PKT on 25 September: PTI has decided to move the march to early October, according to party sources in news reports. Most reports say 4 October and one says 5 October, and no formal announcement had been made. The roads have not reopened. When we read the NHMP advisory at 18:17 PKT, the M-1 from Swabi to the Islamabad toll plaza, the M-14 from Hakla and the GT Road at Attock Khurd were all still closed both ways. More on the march and the planned phone cuts is below.

This is a fast-moving story. Everything below is as of 00:49 PKT on Thursday 24 September 2026, when we read the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) travel advisory ourselves. Check again before you leave.

Six roads into Islamabad were closed at 11pm on 23 September

Islamabad Traffic Police said six routes would close from 11pm on 23 September and stay closed until further notice. Each is blocked at a named point, mostly where the road crosses from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into Punjab. Police asked people to plan journeys and use other roads.

The motorway police gave a wider picture for two of these roads on 22 September, according to news reports. The M-1 is closed in both directions from the Islamabad Toll Plaza to Chach Interchange. That covers the Fateh Jang/Tarnol, Sangjani, Brahma Bahtar, Burhan, Hazara Motorway, Ghazi and Chach interchanges. The M-14 is closed in both directions from Hakla to Kundal.

News reports said the federal government ordered the closures. They also reported about 2,000 shipping containers placed around the capital and at Attock Bridge, and nearly 30,000 security personnel in Attock district. No official has confirmed these numbers on a government page.

The M-2 from Lahore is open for cars, but heavy vehicles are held back

The M-2 Lahore to Islamabad motorway is open to cars, according to the motorway police and Islamabad police. But the NHMP advisory we read at 00:49 on 24 September showed heavy vehicles blocked northbound from Kot Momin, citing law and order.

The NHMP travel advisory page is the motorway police's own live board. Here is what it said for each road when we checked.

• M-1: "Road Closed" from Swabi (KM 420) to MTP Islamabad (KM 351), both directions, "due to Law & Order Situation". Last updated 23 September at 23:06.
• M-2 North: heavy traffic vehicles (HTVs, meaning trucks and large goods carriers) stopped northbound from Kot Momin (KM 163) to Islamabad (KM 350). Last updated 24 September at 00:52.
• M-2 South: northbound HTVs and cargo vehicles diverted at Ravi, Sheikhupura and Sial Mor "due to Security Reason".
• M-14: closure at the River Sindh (KM 180) in both directions, and lanes closed northbound at the River Soan (KM 126).
• GT Road and E-35: the GT Road Peshawar to Islamabad entry still read "Road & Weather Clear", and the E-35 entry showed only a road work lane closure. They had last been updated at 16:27 and 16:14 on 23 September, before the 11pm closures started, so they did not yet show them.

So a car from Lahore can still reach Islamabad on the M-2. A truck may not. The same advisory page is the one drivers use in the fog closures every winter, and it is worth keeping open on your phone this week.

Section 144 bans gatherings of five or more in Islamabad and Punjab

Section 144 is a legal power that lets a district magistrate ban gatherings in an area for a set time. Islamabad's order bans gatherings of five or more people, plus processions, rallies and demonstrations, for two months from 18 September, according to news reports.

The order was issued by Islamabad Additional District Magistrate Dr Anam Fatima and dated 18 September, according to reports late on 23 September. The order text was not published on an official site we could open. As reported, it covers every public place in the district, including the Red Zone, the high security area around Parliament and the government offices. The district administration said gatherings are also banned under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024, and that breaking the ban carries up to three years in prison.

Punjab has imposed Section 144 of its own. Reports describe it as a 13 day order that runs until 5 October. The Punjab Home Department's order bans gatherings, processions or assemblies of five or more people, according to reports quoting it. The Home Department's website did not respond when we tried it on 24 September, so this is unconfirmed at source. Punjab has also asked for Rangers in four districts from 22 September to 5 October, according to news reports.

The Section 144 order that banned swimming in Punjab in August used the same power, and shows how these orders are worded. They cover a place and a time. They do not stop you driving through the area or going to work.

Universities have moved online and goods supply is under strain

COMSATS University moved its Islamabad, Wah and Attock campuses to online classes from 24 September, and HITEC University Taxila did the same, according to news reports. Traders' goods are also affected, because containers are being used to block roads.

COMSATS said classes would stay online until further notice, according to the same reports. They also said that 24 public educational institutions in Islamabad had been requisitioned, meaning taken over for a time, to house security personnel, and that Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) interviews were postponed. These announcements are not on the universities' or FPSC's own sites, so they are reported, not confirmed at source. If you have a class, exam or interview this week, check with the institution directly.

On goods, news reports on 23 September said containers taken by Islamabad police for road blocks were straining the supply of medicines and food. Transporters were reported as saying police had seized about 1,000 containers. Expect gaps in wholesale markets in Rawalpindi and Islamabad while the closures last.

Mobile internet cuts have been requested, but not ordered

As of the evening of 23 September, no mobile or internet suspension had been ordered for Islamabad, Rawalpindi or Attock. Punjab asked for one, but the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said it had received no instruction, according to reports at 7:47pm.

According to news reports, the Punjab Home Department wrote to the federal Interior Ministry. It asked for 2G, 3G and 4G to be suspended at named places in Rawalpindi on 27 September from 9am, and for mobile service across Attock district to be downgraded from 27 September. The places named include the route from Brahma Bahtar to the M-1, Taxila, Wah and Chakri.

PTA officials said they would act only on formal instructions, and the IT Ministry said the Interior Ministry had not sent any, according to reports. Some reports went further and headlined a suspension on 26 and 27 September. That does not match the PTA statement, so treat it as unconfirmed.

Plan for a cut anyway, because internet shutdowns in Pakistan have happened around protests before. Save your e-ticket, boarding pass and booking as screenshots or PDFs. Write down key numbers on paper. Ordinary calls and SMS have sometimes kept working when mobile data stopped, but not always.

How to check a road before you travel this week

Check the NHMP advisory page or call 130 for motorways, and call 1915 for Islamabad city traffic. Do this just before you leave, not the night before. The closures are "until further notice" and can change within hours.

1. Open the NHMP travel advisory and find your sector. Look at the "Last updated" time, not just the status.
2. Call the NHMP helpline 130. The number is on the NHMP website.
3. For roads inside Islamabad, call the Islamabad Traffic Police helpline 1915 or listen to Islamabad Police FM 92.4. Both are listed on the Islamabad Police website.
4. If you are coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, assume the M-1, GT Road at Attock and the Kohat road are shut until you hear otherwise.
5. If you are coming from Lahore by car, the M-2 is the open route. If you drive a truck, check first.

For a flight from Islamabad International Airport, leave much earlier than usual and keep your ticket offline. There was no notice about the airport itself when we checked. But anyone coming from the Peshawar side cannot use the M-1, and containers have been reported at several city entry points. Call your airline if you cannot reach the airport in time. Other useful numbers are on the list of emergency helpline numbers.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned PTI against the march on 21 September. PTI says peaceful protest is its constitutional right. According to news reports, the party had not yet settled whether to march straight to Islamabad or hold sit-ins first, with a meeting set for 25 September. This page reports what authorities announced and takes no side.

Common questions

Is the M-2 motorway open between Lahore and Islamabad?

Yes, for cars. The motorway police and Islamabad police said the M-2 stays open. The NHMP advisory at 00:52 on 24 September showed heavy vehicles stopped northbound from Kot Momin, so trucks may not get through.

When will the M-1 motorway reopen?

No date has been given. Islamabad Traffic Police said the roads are closed from 11pm on 23 September "until further notice". Check the NHMP advisory or call 130 before travelling.

Can I travel from Peshawar to Islamabad this week?

The three main routes, the M-1, the GT Road at Attock Khurd and the Kohat road at Khushal Garh, were closed when we checked. Unless that changes, a road journey from Peshawar to Islamabad is likely to be blocked.

What does Section 144 ban in Islamabad?

It bans gatherings of five or more people, and processions, rallies and demonstrations, at any public place in Islamabad for two months from 18 September, according to news reports of the order. It does not stop ordinary travel or work.

Will mobile internet be shut down on 27 September?

Not confirmed, and less likely now that PTI has reportedly moved its march to October. Punjab asked for cuts in parts of Rawalpindi and Attock from 27 September. PTA said on 23 September that it had received no instruction. Keep offline copies of tickets in case.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the NHMP travel advisory page at 00:49 PKT on 24 September 2026 and quote it above. We confirmed the 130 helpline on the NHMP website, and the 1915 traffic helpline and FM 92.4 on the Islamabad Police website. The Islamabad Traffic Police closure notice and the Section 144 order text were not on any official site we could open, so the closure points and the Section 144 terms come from news reports. So do the reports on universities, containers and mobile service, and each is marked as reported above. If anything here is wrong or has changed, write to us and we will correct it openly.