The ban was announced by Interior MinisterRana Sanaullah hours after a policeman was shot and killed during a crackdownon Khan"s leaders and supporters, according to a police statement and remarksby Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb at a news briefing.
Khan, who was ousted last month in aconfidence vote, has been leading rallies across the country, blaming theUnited States for conspiring to topple his government.
Pakistan is in dire need of externalfinancial support as foreign reserves have fallen below $10.5 billion,equivalent to less than two months of imports. Shehbaz Sharif, who replacedKhan last month, has yet to take bold steps towards putting the economy back ontrack.
Khan had urged his supporters to march onIslamabad on Wednesday, warning the government that he wouldn"t leave thecapital until the parliament was dissolved in order to hold a fresh election.He has vowed to rally tens of thousands of people.
"No one would be allowed to siege thecapital and dictate his demands," the interior minister said, adding theCabinet had approved the ban.
He said Khan and his aides had termed it abloody march, which could not be allowed following a sit-in that Khan held in2014 for over four months that paralysed the country. At the time, Khan hadrallied thousands of people to protest alleged rigging of an election in 2013.
Khan challenged the government to try stophis march.
"You try to stop us if youcould," he told reporters, saying a peaceful protest was his right thatcould not be denied.
Talks are ongoing in Doha between thegovernment and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume a $6 billionrescue package agreed in 2019, and are due to conclude on Wednesday.
