Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s three sisters have been detained in Lahore as authorities prepare for a major Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) march in Islamabad on September 27.
At the same time, hospitals in the capital have been told to prepare for a possible “mass casualty event” ahead of the planned protest.
The children were later released after being held for a few hours, according to Aleema Khan’s son Shershah Khan, while the three sisters remain in custody. Eight members of Khan’s family were detained during the crackdown. “Our home is under siege. Both ends of our street have been cordoned off, effectively placing our entire family under house arrest,” he wrote. Several other PTI workers and leaders have also reportedly been detained in recent days. We raised our voice in the parliament and the senate, but it has fallen on deaf ears,” he added. The government, meanwhile, has warned PTI against going ahead with the protest.
Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were detained within 24 hours as part of a crackdown on Khan’s family and PTI leaders ahead of the march, which the party says will demand the release of their jailed leader and former prime minister. The sisters were detained under Pakistan’s Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, which allows their detention for up to 30 days, according to Drop Site News. PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has claimed that around 1,500 party workers, five parliamentarians and a minister have been detained this week. “We have gone to the high courts 25 times and 19 times to the Supreme Court.
Shershah Khan said on X that police surrounded the family’s home in Lahore. The party has said it will continue with the planned march. “In the four years since our government was overthrown, we have not been allowed a single long march,” said Barrister Khan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said authorities will take steps to stop the march and urged the party and its workers not to put themselves at risk.
