LAHORE: Intercity bus services from Lahore to several destinations across the country were suspended on Sunday after the administration reportedly sealed all general bus terminals in the city late on Saturday night, leaving passengers stranded and disrupting travel.

The closures affected passengers travelling to Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, south Punjab and other parts of central Punjab. Several passengers reported difficulties after their tickets were cancelled and transport services suspended.

Meanwhile, major private bus operators suspended their services amid reports of restrictions on public transport movement on motorways and national highways.

Representatives of private bus operators told Dawn that their services had been suspended and buses were not being dispatched due to the restrictions.

However, Motorway police spokesperson Imran Shah told Dawn that motorways and highways were open to traffic and that he was unaware of any directions to suspend bus services.

Another motorway police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said buses were not operating on motorways or highways because of the PTI’s protest call. He added that people travelling in private vehicles could use the roads.

Punjab Transport Department Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact him on his mobile phone.

The development comes as the PTI launched its march on October 4 despite warnings from the Centre.

So far, the march — being carried out to demand party chief Imran Khan’s release — has remained within KP, where the PTI is in power.

A day earlier, containers were transported to the Swabi Interchange — where the PTI had called on its workers to gather — as well as the Indus River bridge on the M-1 Motorway to block the party’s march, but the motorway and the Grand Trunk Road remain open to traffic.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2026