The long march, which set off from the PTI-governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, gained further momentum on Monday (October 5, 2026) as heavy convoys proceeded along major highways toward the federal capital. Addressing supporters, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi called on citizens and youth to take to the streets for their imprisoned leader. Imran Khan, 74, has remained in custody since May 2023 following a string of legal convictions, most of which have been suspended or overturned on appeal except for one pending case, maintaining that his detention is politically motivated. The march was initially scheduled for September 27 but was temporarily deferred to allow bilateral talks with the Shehbaz Sharif administration. However, negotiations collapsed late last week after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi insisted on joint counter-terrorism policies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—a condition PTI rejected as an attempt to coerce the party. In response to the approaching march, security forces have blockaded central Islamabad, sealing off the Red Zone, Parliament, and diplomatic enclaves with massive shipping containers, while Interior Minister Naqvi warned that authorities would prevent protesters from entering the capital at all costs, even threatening constitutional dissolution of the provincial government if security cooperation fails.