Pakistan authorities have detained former prime minister Imran Khan’s 3 sisters ahead of a PTI protest planned for September 27. The women are Alima Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noorine Niazi.
Lahore authorities issued 2 separate orders under the Maintenance of Public Order law, allowing the 3 women to be held for 30 days. Uzma and Noorine were sent to Kot Lakhpat Jail, while the account of Alima’s detention was described separately by family members and party figures.
The action comes days before PTI’s planned march in Islamabad, which is being organised around demands for Imran Khan’s release. Khan has been in a Pakistan prison for 3 years, and his sisters have campaigned for his release.
What the family alleges
Kasim Khan, Imran Khan’s son, alleged that police entered the homes of his aunts and cousins by force before taking people away in vehicles. Another family member, cited in reporting attributed to the Financial Times, alleged that more than 200 police officers raided the sisters’ homes in Lahore.
That account alleged that officers broke open the bedroom door while Dr Uzma Khan was in bed. It also said staff members were pulled from their quarters, while staff linked to Alima Khan were placed in a police van. The same account alleged that other people were threatened with arrest.
Sher Shah Khan, Imran Khan’s nephew, said on X that the family home had been surrounded and both ends of the street sealed. He alleged that his mother, Alima Khan, had been taken away hours earlier and that the family had not been told where she was being held.
PTI criticism of the arrests
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said the women had been placed in an armoured vehicle and taken to an unknown location. He also said their children had been arrested.
PTI workers claimed that police and security agencies had detained members of Imran Khan’s wider family. The material reporting these claims does not establish an official explanation for every alleged detention.
Former Imran Khan chief of staff Shahbaz Gill called the arrests “Hitler-like brutality” and criticised what he described as silence from Western democracies over alleged violations of the rule of law, democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.
Pakistani journalist and human-rights activist Mariam Nawaz Khan also criticised the action. She questioned what detaining the 3 sisters would achieve beyond trying to stop a political march and said it would increase anger and resentment.
Why the timing matters
The detentions have taken place as the government prepares for PTI’s September 27 Islamabad march. The reporting says authorities have decided to deploy thousands of police personnel to prevent the demonstration.
The sisters’ detention therefore places the family’s campaign for Imran Khan’s release alongside a wider political confrontation over the planned protest. Authorities have described the detained women as a possible threat to public peace, while the reporting says they have no political or party role.
Conclusion
The detention of Imran Khan’s sisters has intensified the dispute between PTI supporters and Pakistan authorities before the September 27 protest. The women are subject to 30-day detention orders, while their family and political allies continue to challenge the arrests and allege forceful police action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who has been detained?
Alima Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noorine Niazi, the 3 sisters of former prime minister Imran Khan, have been detained.
Q. Why were the sisters detained?
Lahore authorities ordered their detention under the Maintenance of Public Order law ahead of PTI’s planned protest.
Q. How long can they be held?
The detention orders allow the 3 women to be held for 30 days.
Q. Where were Uzma Khan and Noorine Niazi taken?
They were sent to Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Q. When is the PTI protest planned?
PTI’s planned protest and march is scheduled for September 27 in Islamabad.
Q. What has the family alleged?
Family members have alleged that police entered homes by force, took people away in vehicles and failed to disclose Alima Khan’s location.
Q. What did PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram say?
He said the women were placed in an armoured vehicle and taken to an unknown location, and that their children had also been arrested.
Q. What is the stated official basis for the detention?
The Lahore deputy commissioner’s orders cited the Maintenance of Public Order law and described the women as a possible threat to public peace.
