PTI says Imran Khan’s sisters denied visit, ‘manhandled’ by Pakistani Police

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has alleged that police “violently detained” party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sisters from outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi after authorities once again denied them their weekly visit with him. The PTI staged a protest outside Adiala jail, where Imran Khan is being held, while jail authorities refused to allow party workers or family members to meet him.

In response, the party held a sit-in outside the jail, accusing authorities of violating a court order. “Police violently detained Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi, and Uzma Khan from where they were sitting peacefully outside Adiala Jail after yet again being denied their weekly visit with their brother,” PTI posted on X.

The party further said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi, Member of National Assembly Shahid Khattak and other party office holders and workers, including several women, were subjected to “violence and picked up by police”. The party said that Imran Khan’s sisters, along with his legal team, had reached jail on Tuesday for a scheduled meeting but were refused and compelled to wait for hours until night.

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“What should be routine weekly court-mandated family visits, in accordance with Imran Khan’s rights as a prisoner, are being used as a tool of oppression and violence against his family members and supporters,” it added. In videos shared by the PTI on X, workers, along with Aleema and Uzma, were seen gathered around a visibly shaken Noreen. “Those women were dragging (her) on the road,” Aleema said. Later, in another video shared by the party, Noreen said that female police officials pulled her by her hair and pushed her down to the ground.

“I didn’t understand it. I still don’t understand what happened,” she said, adding that PTI workers were sitting peacefully outside the jail. In a separate statement, the PTI strongly condemned what it called the “inhumane, unlawful, and disgraceful treatment” of Imran’s family members. “By 10 p.m., despite spending twelve hours under severe distress, the Punjab government ordered an appalling operation that no civilised or democratic society could ever justify,” the PTI said.

It further claimed that the area where Imran’s sisters had been sitting was “intentionally flooded with water”. “The lights were switched off to plunge the entire place into darkness, and in the ensuing chaos, police physically assaulted Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan and Uzma Khan,” it added. The PTI further stated that one of Imran Khan’s sisters was “dragged” across the road, “manhandled”, and “violently detained despite her cries and the pleas of those present”.

“This level of state oppression and cruelty represents an unprecedented assault on basic human dignity, constitutional freedoms, and moral norms,” it said. KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi criticised the police action targeting Imran Khan’s sisters and a member of his cabinet. “The attempt to arrest MNA Shahid Khattak and other provincial and national assembly members is also condemnable,” he said, warning that the situation was progressing to a point of no return.