RAWALPINDI: The sisters of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday staged a sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, protesting continued restrictions on family meetings despite court orders.
Sit-ins by PTI workers, supporters and Imran’s sisters have become a regular feature on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after the family was repeatedly denied access to the former premier over the past several weeks.
An Islamabad High Court (IHC) order issued on March 24, 2025 had directed jail authorities to allow meetings with Imran twice a week, but the directive has yet to be implemented, according to PTI leaders.
On Tuesday, Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi — along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, were stopped by police at DHA Naka, several kilometres away from the jail, instead of the usual protest site near Factory Chowk. The demonstrators held a Quran khwani at the location and were later allowed to move slightly forward.
Speaking to reporters, Uzma Khan said police blockades forced them to take a dirt road, adding that the group had decided to hold Quran khwani wherever they were stopped. She warned that Pakistan would be “completely jammed” on February 8, when PTI and opposition parties have called for a nationwide wheel-jam strike.
Uzma alleged that Imran’s imprisonment was linked to his opposition to military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and claimed that police were harassing PTI supporters and demanding bribes outside Adiala Jail. She also urged supporters to mark February 8 by flying kites bearing Imran Khan’s name and image.
Aleema Khan told reporters that jail authorities were refusing to allow the signing of a vakalatnama, while stressing that protesters ultimately wanted Imran’s release rather than symbolic meetings.
KP Chief Minister’s adviser on information, Shafiullah Jan, said police had stopped demonstrators much farther from the jail than in previous weeks, describing the restrictions as an attempt to suppress the party’s street movement. He maintained that court-ordered meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays were not being honoured.
PTI Islamabad President Amir Mughal called on the public to join protests, saying Imran was “facing jail for the people and the youth”. He reiterated the party’s plan to shut down the country on February 8.
Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in the £190 million corruption case, while also facing trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the May 9, 2023 protests. In December, a United Nations special rapporteur warned that his detention conditions could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and urged Pakistan to comply with international standards.
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