'Govt wants to defuse protest momentum'

PTI founder Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan on Tuesday accused the government of using dialogue as a pressure valve, saying that the ruling party revived talk of negotiations only when protest calls loomed, as she and other family members were once again denied permission to meet the incarcerated leader at Adiala Jail, triggering a sit-in.

The day, designated for meetings at Adiala Jail where the party's supremo remains incarcerated, turned into a flashpoint as the sit-in protest brought traffic on Adiala Road to a standstill for hours.

Imran Khan's three sisters – Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan – along with PTI leaders, were stopped at multiple police checkpoints and barred from proceeding towards the jail.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, party spokesperson for the party founder Niazullah Niazi, secretary general Salman Akram Raja and lawyer Faisal Malik were halted at the Dahgal checkpoint and not allowed to move forward.

The sisters, travelling via Chakri Interchange, reached the Gorakhpur checkpoint, where police placed a dumper across the road and blocked their vehicle.

Led by Aleema Khan, the sisters and party workers began marching on foot towards the jail.

At the Factory checkpoint, police erected iron barricades, completely sealing Adiala Road. At around 3:30pm, after repeated denials of access, Aleema Khan announced a sit-in on the main road. Party workers joined the protest, chanting slogans as traffic on the central artery came to a halt, forcing commuters to walk long distances late into the night.

Senior PTI leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including provincial president Junaid Akbar, Mushtaq Ghani and K-P government spokesperson Shafqatullah Jan, arrived at the site to express solidarity and joined the sit-in.

Speaking to the media, Aleema accused the authorities of routinely blocking meetings every Tuesday, alleging that the state had "broken the Constitution and the law" and was holding Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in solitary confinement.

"We will not leave him alone," she said, adding that those who, in her words, held a "stolen mandate" panicked and rushed to negotiations whenever Imran called for protests. She claimed that even the prime minister and his aides had begun floating the idea of talks, but insisted that authorities must first explain why meetings with Imran Khan were being blocked.

She questioned why the country's "most popular leader" was being kept isolated, said barriers erected on public roads exposed official fear, and claimed Imran Khan had already conveyed instructions to K-P leadership to prepare for street protests.

Separately, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that, whether through resistance or reconciliation, "a path forward must be opened", acknowledging ongoing discussions about possible talks between the government and PTI, while noting that Aleema Khan's stance on negotiations was already on record.

Speaking to reporters at the Dahgal checkpoint near Adiala Jail, Barrister Gohar said it did not appear that meetings would be allowed that day, but stressed that access to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi should be ensured.

He warned that the country's problems were deepening, said there should be no politics over family meetings, and demanded that Bushra Bibi's relatives also be allowed to meet her.