Pakistan capital locked down, phone service suspended to stop rally by party of ex-leader Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities placed shipping containers on key roads and highways leading to the capital and suspended cellphone service in Islamabad on Friday in an attempt to prevent supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a rally seeking his release.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government also deployed paramilitary rangers and additional police and shut schools in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi after Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party refused to withdraw its call for the protest.

Videos posted online showed police placing shipping containers on bridges and roads on a key highway in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan's party holds power. Khan's supporters plan to march from the province to Islamabad, defying a ban on rallies imposed this week.

Police reportedly arrested some party supporters.

Khan, Sharif's main political rival, has been in prison for more than a year in connection with more than 150 police cases. He remains a popular figure despite the cases, which critics and his party say are politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament and arrested in 2023 after a court handed him a 3-year jail sentence in a graft case.

The suspension of cellphone service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday disrupted communications and affected basic services such as online banking, ride and food delivery services. Many people faced difficulties traveling because of the obstacles placed on the roads.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told Khan's party to cancel the planned protest and warned that there would be "no leniency'' if the ban on protests is defied.

A message on Khan's social media account urged supporters to join the protest.

''The tyrants in power want to terrorize us," it said. "So go forth fearlessly, and remember if you still hesitate, to step forward and truly liberate yourself.''

Sharif's government says Khan's party wants to weaken the country's economy by staging violent protests despite the threat of attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks in recent years.

Pakistan, which recently received a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, has been struggling to overcome an economic crisis.

On Friday, supporters of Khan gathered in Swabi, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, to begin a march toward Islamabad.

Provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gundapur, who led a large rally last month near Islamabad demanding Khan's release, planned to join the march.

Officials said the provincial government has mobilized heavy machinery to remove the shipping containers placed by the federal authorities on the highway leading to the capital.

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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.