ISLAMABAD — In a sweeping preemptive crackdown, Pakistani authorities have detained the immediate family of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, escalating political tensions just days ahead of a major rally demanding his release.
According to reports on 21 September, police arrested Khan’s three sisters—Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, and Noreen Niazi—along with several of their children. The arrests were executed under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, a move widely seen as an attempt to disrupt the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s planned mass march on the capital, Islamabad, scheduled for 27 September.
Aleema Khan was initially intercepted by police in Lahore and was reportedly transported to an undisclosed location in an armoured vehicle. Shortly after, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi held a press conference to denounce the arrest of their sister. Both were subsequently taken into custody alongside their children.
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly condemned the detentions. “Aleema Khan was detained because she refused to stay silent about her brother’s illegal detention, solitary confinement, and denial of medical care,” Akram stated.
Imran Khan, the populist leader and former cricket star, has been incarcerated since August 2023 on a string of corruption charges that he and his supporters dismiss as politically motivated. The government’s heavy-handed approach signals a concerted effort to dismantle the PTI’s organisational capabilities and prevent a massive convergence on Adiala Jail, where the former premier remains imprisoned.
The ongoing political crisis in Pakistan traces back to Khan’s dramatic ouster via a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. Khan has long alleged that his removal was the result of a “US-backed regime-change operation.” His claims recently gained substantial weight when Drop Site News published a leaked diplomatic cable revealing that Donald Lu, then-US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, told Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington that “all will be forgiven” if Khan was successfully removed from power.
Reference: The Cradle