Pakistan jails sisters of Imran Khan before protest seeking his release

Three sisters of Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan have been arrested amid a heavy-handed government crackdown on plans for a nationwide protest to demand Khan’s release.The lawyer for the three sisters, Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, said on Monday that they had all been detained and jailed for 30 days under a warrant that accused them of being a threat to public order.Leaders from Khan’s Pakistan-tehreek-e-insaf" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="6795" data-entity-type="organization">Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned the “illegal harassment” of his sisters. Since Khan was arrested and held in prison on corruption charges in 2023, his sisters have been vocal advocates for his release.His family and party allege that Khan is being kept in solitary confinement and has been denied visits and calls from his family for six months, as well as being allegedly prevented from accessing vital medical treatment for an eye condition.The arrest of Khan’s sisters marked a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on PTI members and supporters in the run up to a nationwide demonstration due to be held on Sunday – described as a “long march” – to demand the release of Khan and to protest an alleged erosion of democracy and the constitution under the ruling coalition government.Khan’s sisters hold a political position in PTI. Since protesting against their brother’s detention – including by camping outside the prison where he is held, demanding to see him – they have been named in various court cases. This is the first time they have all been held in prison.Aleema was arrested in Lahore on Sunday as she was travelling to a private club; her driver was also picked up by police. Uzma and Noreen were then arrested at around 3am on Monday morning, after they held a press conference to condemn Aleema’s detention at her house in Lahore.According to their lawyer, Rana Mudassir Umar, hundreds of police officers later surrounded the family home as more than 100 entered to arrest Uzma and Noreen, as well as their children, grandchildren – who are four and six years old – and the household staff. The house was raided and all their phones were taken.By 7am on Monday morning, the children and grandchildren had been released but the three sisters were held and charged under the country’s Maintenance of Public Order law, according to Umar.He said: “They have not been allowed any family access, no legal counsellor access and they were not even allowed to bring clothes or basic things.“We have challenged their arrests in the high court in Lahore and [are] hoping we will get a hearing soon.”While Pakistan is ostensibly ruled by a civilian coalition government, the army is widely regarded as the country’s most powerful establishment, led by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshall Asim Munir, who fell out with Khan while Khan was prime minister. The current government was brought to power in an election in 2024 which was widely documented as rigged, allegedly by military intervention, to prevent Khan’s party returning to power.Speaking to the Guardian last week, Khan’s two sons, who are based in London and fighting for his release, accused Munir of a “personal vendetta” against their father and alleged the Pakistani authorities were “slowly killing” Khan in prison.Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that the government would “find a permanent solution” to prevent to march going ahead and shutting down swathes of the country “once and for all”.Despite Khan’s lengthy incarceration, he is still regarded as Pakistan’s most popular politician and there are fears among officials that large numbers could turn out to support PTI’s march on Sunday. It is being held as discontentment is rife on the streets amid an economic crisis and crippling petrol shortages due to the turmoil in the Middle East and the Gulf. Disgust at the alleged mistreatment of Khan is also widespread.Khan’s party has faced constant harassment over the past three years, with most senior PTI figures either in jail or pressed to leave politics.Sheikh Waqas Akram, a senior PTI leader, said the government feared that hundreds of thousands of people may turn out to the long march and “topple the government”, as protest movements have done recently in neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Over the weekend, the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, was transformed into a fortress of heavy security, with barriers and heavy armed security lining the roads and shipping containers placed to block the entrances into the city.“Punjab police are raiding houses, harassing families, bulldozing houses and arresting workers and families,” Akram said. “They are going to insane levels to crush the long march and stop it with violence and arrests. This illegitimate government know they can’t survive if people are allowed to protest and march on Islamabad in huge numbers.”