Tag: Aleema Khan

Sisters of former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan, and at least two top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, were briefly detained by the police for holding a sit-in outside Adiala Jail, saying they won’t leave until permitted to see the jailed party founder.

Sources, however, told The Current that Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, as well as PTI’s Aliya Hamza and Sahibzada Hamid Raza, were later set free when the police stopped the prisoner van at a distance from the jail and asked the detainees to go home.

“You’re not being taken to a police station… please go back to your homes,” sources quoted the police as saying, over which, they added, Khan’s sisters and Hamza refused to leave.

“If you have taken us into custody, then take us to the police station,” they reportedly told the police. The cops then dropped the detainees in front of a wedding hall, reports said, adding that after exiting the police van, the women sat on the lawn and refused to leave.

A peaceful sit-in, led by Imran Khan’s sisters, continued at the location by the time this report was filed.

Earlier, a clash broke out between PTI workers and police near Adiala Jail, leading to multiple arrests and a brief standoff.

The confrontation occurred at the Gorakhpur checkpoint, where PTI workers had gathered and chanted slogans after the party leaders were denied permission to meet the jailed party founder.

In response, police resorted to baton charging the protesters, while PTI supporters pelted stones at law enforcement personnel. Several PTI leaders and workers were taken into custody during the altercation.

The situation was defused after Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Omar Ayub intervened and assured police of cooperation.

PTI chief Barrister Gohar strongly condemned the arrests, saying that the court has clearly ordered that the family be allowed to meet the PTI founder, a private media outlet reported.

Barrister Gohar termed the detention of the PTI founder’s sisters “illegal and unconstitutional,” and asserted that no court order imposed conditional terms for such meetings.

“We did not pelt stones at police nor did we make any call for protest. We only came here to show support for the PTI founder’s sisters,” reports quoted him as saying.

The sister of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan, Aleema Khan, has stated that she will peacefully remain outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi until she is allowed to meet her brother. 

Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail today, Aleema, who was accompanied by her sisters,  said that she was expected to meet Imran Khan in jail at 2 pm. She vowed to hold a protest if denied a meeting with her incarcerated brother. 

 
In response to a question from a reporter, Aleema said that she had not been allowed to meet Imran Khan since March 20, adding that authorities did not reveal the reason for her being denied access to visit Adiala Jail.

However, Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar Khan, Barrister Ali Zafar, Zaheer Abbas, and other lawyers were allowed to enter the jail, media reports claims.

Aleema further said that a police force had been deployed so that they could not meet her brother. “Why aren’t they letting us meet,” she inquired.

Meanwhile, as per media reports, Aleema’s statement has prompted Rawalpindi police to implement extraordinary security measures around the prison.

Viewing the law and order situation, comprehensive security arrangements have been finalized, and special security teams have been formed under the supervision of Superintendent Police (SP) Saddar Division to secure the jail and surrounding areas.

Checkpoints have been established on seven entry routes leading to the jail. Elite Force personnel are stationed in the vicinity, and a large contingent of female police officers has been deployed at the Adiala Police Post. 

Meanwhile, media reports claimed that traffic police would be positioned outside the jail to ensure smooth traffic flow during the protest.

Aleema Khan, the sister of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has revealed that it was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur who brought her brother the offer to shift him from Adiala Jail to his residence in Bani Gala.

Speaking to media persons outside the jail in Rawalpindi, Aleema said that CM Gandapur had brought the house arrest deal to Khan who had no intentions of making a backdoor deal.

“If he [Imran Khan] intended to make a backdoor deal, he would have done it by now instead of facing 200 cases,” she said, but did not reveal who was behind the offer that Gandapur conveyed.

It may be noted that Khan, in a statement on X, had last month said he was offered to be shifted from Adiala Jail to Bani Gala under house arrest, but he had refused the relief offer, saying that it was “illegal incarceration” in the first place. Amid speculations about where the offer had come from, government members had rubbished claims of any such offer for the jailed former premier.

On her brother’s condition, Aleema on Tuesday said his request for the provision of books had been refused and personal doctors were not allowed to visit him. “Imran Khan was even barred from talking to his children.”

In a sarcastic jibe at the government and judiciary, she also said that her brother was disappointed that he had not yet been sentenced in the Al Qadir Trust case.

To a question about why members of PTI’s negotiation committee were not allowed to meet Khan in jail, the incarcerated party founder’s sister said she could not make sense of it given how Khan was allowed to meet others. “We are facilitated to meet Imran Khan even at 7 am.”

It merits a mention that negotiations between the government and PTI have hit a roadblock since after last week’s second round of talks due to either side’s reluctance in agreeing to certain terms.

While the government has been stressing the need for PTI to present its demands in writing, the PTI itself refuses to hold a third round of talks before meeting and discussing the situation with Khan in jail.

Meanwhile, media reports have quoted PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as confirming that backchannel contacts have also been established for a possible solution to the political deadlock.

Aleema Khan, the sister of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, can be seen in viral footage from December 13, engaging in an informal conversation with journalists about the conditions of the jail where her brother, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is detained.

When a reporter mentioned that Khan had been in prison for over a year, she corrected him, saying, “It has been a year and a half.”

The reporter then asked if Khan was able to speak to his sons abroad. Aleema replied, “He [Imran Khan] has said this multiple times in front of a judge. Every prisoner is allowed to talk with their family members once a week. Whatever Imran Khan requests, it is refused.”

She also revealed that Khan had asked for warm clothes, “but they don’t provide them to him,” adding, “It’s so cold, especially in his cell, because it’s open from above.”

“The second thing he asks for is a phone call with his sons, but they don’t allow that. If he asks for a book, it takes many days for them to deliver it. He’s asked for these three things, and we struggle to verify whether he’s been given them or not. They create so much confusion and delay,” Aleema remarked.

When a reporter asked if Imran Khan had requested “cornflakes cereal” in prison, she replied, “No, he has never asked for anything like that. He has only asked for these three things: warm clothes, books, and phone calls with his sons.”

Reiterating the conditions of his cell, Aleema further explained that it is open from above, and plastic sheets are placed above in winter. “But as you know, it doesn’t have much effect on the temperature because the breeze passes through.”

“We offered to give him weighted blankets for warmth, but according to prison rules, that’s not allowed. Only comforters are allowed. We will try again to provide him with other things for warmth. He has been given a small fan heater, but it doesn’t help much because of the open cell,” Aleema added.

“They don’t turn on the TV either, and he said that although it only has the PTV channel, he wanted to watch it. But they don’t allow that. The newspapers resumed a few days ago,” stated Aleema Khan.

Imran Khan has also instructed his party leaders and supporters to launch a “civil disobedience” movement starting December 14. He demanded the release of PTI workers and called for the formation of a five-member negotiation team in a statement from his X account.