Pakistan ‘locks down’ capital, main Punjab city ahead of hardline religious group’s march

Pakistan placed its capital region and Lahore, the main city of Punjab province, under tight security on Friday, blocking roads and suspending mobile internet services as authorities braced for a protest march by the hardline religious group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Residents of Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi faced severe disruption to daily life, struggling to commute or access mobile data. Large shipping containers were positioned at major entry points to the capital to block routes, while cellphone networks slowed or went offline.

“The Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control has accorded approval to suspend 3G/4G services in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi […] until further orders,” read a notification issued Thursday.

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The document directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to enforce the suspension in coordination with local police and administration.

Emergency measures across Punjab

The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) said the road closures had prevented lawyers from reaching the courts, urging judges not to issue adverse orders in cases where attorneys could not appear.

Authorities have also imposed emergency security restrictions across the country’s most populous province, Punjab, under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The order bans public gatherings, processions, and the display of weapons for an initial 14-day period, subject to extension.

The Punjab Home Department said the restrictions followed “credible intelligence” of coordinated attacks targeting large gatherings, government buildings, and security personnel.

Officials also prohibited the use of loudspeakers except for the Islamic call to prayer and religious sermons.

Closures disrupt schools and transport

In Lahore, the provincial capital, road closures caused gridlock in several areas. The education department announced a public and private school holiday due to transport difficulties. Colleges and universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were also ordered to close.

Punjab University postponed its LLB law exams scheduled for Friday, saying new dates would be announced later.

In Rawalpindi, all roads leading to the main Murree Road corridor were sealed off, with police and paramilitary forces deployed near Faizabad, Chandni Chowk, and Liaquat Bagh — key protest sites in past TLP demonstrations.

The Metro Bus service between Islamabad and Rawalpindi was suspended, while businesses and hotels along Murree Road were ordered shut. Roads connecting the two cities were completely blocked, effectively paralyzing movement.

TLP’s history of street power

Founded in 2015 by the late cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, TLP follows the Barelvi Sunni school of thought and rose to prominence by defending Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws.

Under Rizvi’s son and successor Saad, the group has staged mass protests that often paralyze major cities.

TLP has clashed with governments repeatedly, from a 2017 Islamabad sit-in that toppled a minister, to 2018 protests after a Christian woman accused of blasphemy was acquitted, to violent 2021 demonstrations over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The group has also been linked to mob attacks on religious minorities, including the 2023 burning of 21 churches in Punjab’s Jaranwala town.