Imran sisters, PTI leaders briefly detained

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ISLAMABAD:

A meeting day at Adiala Jail turned into another episode of cat-and-mouse between police and senior PTI leaders on Thursday, as several lawmakers and family members of PTI founder Imran Khan were briefly detained near the prison.

Those picked up included Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bhachar, SIC chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Khan's three sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan — along with their cousin Qasim Khan. All were later released.

According to eyewitnesses and statements made by Aleema and Ayub, the group was bundled into a prison van by police and taken on a mysterious drive across the city — stopping at locations such as a restaurant and a petrol station — before being released. "I told them: even if you leave us in a deserted field, we'll come back. We won't leave until we meet Imran or they jail us," Aleema said before being taken into the van.

But no such meeting took place. Despite IHC orders, directing the Adiala Jail authorities to allow meeting of PTI leaders with Imran Khan, they said. The jail authorities and police allegedly blocked their access - the second week in a row, they added.

Aleema lashed out at the authorities after her release, calling their actions a blatant disregard of judicial directives. "Forget that we're Imran's sisters - just look at what they're doing to elected parliamentarians," she said. "It's a mockery of the justice system. If judges can't ensure their orders are followed, why occupy those seats. Step aside and let someone deliver justice."

She warned that this routine defiance of court orders amounts to contempt. "Judges should be more worried than us. Even the Chief Justice of Pakistan's orders mean nothing to the jail authorities. Is this why judges are paid and privileged?" she questioned.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub was equally blunt. Speaking to reporters after the incident, he called Thursday "an indictment day for Pakistan's judiciary," and said a virtual martial law is already in place in the country.

Ayub said he reached Adiala at 12:30pm and crossed one check post, but the police stopped him on the next. He said that the police officials told him that "an intelligence colonel" had instructed them not to allow them through.

Ayub reminded the authorities that his car bore the Pakistani flag because he represented the state. "Would the heavens have fallen if we met Imran Khan," he asked, saying foreign investors won't come to Pakistan until the country has rule of law and constitutional supremacy.

He also warned the judiciary that public trust in the system is eroding fast, saying judges' orders were openly being flouted by Punjab police and intelligence agencies. The courts must assert their authority, he said.

Ayub also took aim at National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, accusing him of misleading the public. Ayub said that the speaker said PTI's resolution on canals was submitted on April 10. However, he said, he submitted it on March 12, 2025. "What action did Sadiq take when our lawmakers were dragged out of Parliament," he also questioned, before answering none. He regretted that's why people seeing the day where elected representatives were being thrown into prison vans.

PTI officials, meanwhile, condemned the detentions and warned of growing public backlash if such tactics continued. On social media, the leaders said that these actions will only deepen political instability and increase public anger. As for Thursday's designated visiting hours - they came and went without a single meeting.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salamn Akram Raja also lamented that the courts' orders were routinely being thrown into dustbins, saying this will have to stop.

Raja urged people to raise their voice against the blatant violation of court orders and to save the country from turning into a jungle or a graveyard.

He said PTI is raising voice for the people of Pakistan, saying the issue does not just pertain to PTI, Imran Khan or his sisters, and elected lawmakers as the whole system is being eroded every day. He vowed to continue fighting for the legal rights and keep raising issues before the courts.