Pakistan: Imran Khan's two more sisters arrested ahead of party's protest march

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan police on Monday arrested two more sisters of Imran Khan for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, ahead of a planned long march by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to demand the former prime minister's release from jail.

A day earlier, police detained Khan's another sister Aleema Khan under the same law and shifted her to Kot Lakhpat jail.

On Monday, police detained Khan's sisters Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, along with his nephews, for 30 days under the MPO Ordinance, an official said.

They were shifted to Kot Lakhpat jail, where Aleema had been transferred following her detention, the official added.

The detentions come ahead of PTI's nationwide protest, including a planned long march on Islamabad on September 27 to demand Khan's release.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday warned Khan's party against street protests.

“We have clearly told them (PTI) that they can never achieve anything through such drama, and I will say again that there is still time; they should not go into this situation,” he said, advising the party to “not enter a dead-end street”.

He said that PTI would not be allowed to “come to Islamabad and shut down the city for ten days."

"That possibility does not exist,” he added.

Lahore police took action against Khan's sisters, stating that they were “prejudicial to the public safety and maintenance of public order”.

The law allows police to arrest someone threatening peace in any part of the country.

The arrest order stated that the two were involved in the May 9, 2023 protest and “motivated the workers to damage public and government property”.

“Moreover, they are again mobilising the workers through social media and public meetings to create a law and order situation, raising/chanting objectionable slogans amongst the general public against the government/institution in order to provoke and incite them,” the order read.

“Accordingly, multiple cases including 96/23 PS Race Course were registered,” it said, stating that Uzma and Noreen were “potential dangers to public peace and tranquillity”.

“Such activists will give rise to a situation prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order, if left unchecked.”

PTI lawyer Awais Chaudhry confirmed to Dawn newspaper that all three of Imran’s sisters had been arrested.

“Earlier, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan were confined to their house, but on Monday morning they were taken to an unknown place,” he claimed.

PTI, in a post on X, condemned the arrest, calling it a “blatant abuse of authority, a violation of fundamental rights, and an act of political victimisation”.

“Such conduct is illegal, unconstitutional, and is condemned in the strongest possible terms,” the party said.

Khan, 73, has been incarcerated since 2023. Currently, he is lodged at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. His sisters have been raising concerns about his health in prison, while demanding his release.