LAHORE (MNN); Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, have been detained for 30 days under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960, ahead of the party’s planned September 27 nationwide protest.
Their detention came a day after their sister, Aleema Khan, was also detained under similar orders issued by Lahore Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ijaz.
According to the detention order dated September 20, the Lahore administration said Uzma and Noreen were being detained because their activities were considered “prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order.” They have been ordered to remain in custody at Central Jail Kot Lakhpat.
The order alleged that the two had participated in the May 9 protests and had motivated PTI workers to damage public and government property. It further alleged that they were again mobilising party workers through social media and public meetings and raising slogans that could create a law-and-order situation.
The administration said several cases had been registered against them, including case No. 96/23 at Race Course Police Station, and described them as potential threats to public peace and tranquillity.
The detention decision was reportedly taken at a meeting chaired by Lahore DC Muhammad Ali Ijaz on Sunday, where police evidence was presented and endorsed by the participants.
The order further stated that the administration believed the presence of Uzma and Noreen in public could pose a threat to public safety and potentially result in a breach of public peace and order.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged that Punjab police had taken both sisters into custody along with their children and Aleema Khan’s sons. He claimed they were placed in an armoured vehicle and taken to an undisclosed location.
PTI lawyer Awais Younas Chaudhry also said all three of Imran Khan’s sisters had been arrested, claiming that Uzma and Noreen were initially confined to their residence before being taken away on Monday morning.
The PTI condemned the detentions, describing them as an abuse of authority and a violation of fundamental rights. The party alleged that the action amounted to political victimisation.
Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan also alleged on social media that his aunts and cousins had been taken away by authorities. He claimed that officials entered their residences and moved family members into vehicles without explaining the reasons for their detention.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called for an end to political tensions, saying that further arrests of party parliamentarians and family members could increase confrontation. He urged the state to change its course of action and said the party was seeking justice through peaceful political activity.
Former Punjab Assembly member Seemabia Tahir also criticised the treatment of Imran Khan’s family members and expressed the view that the detentions could encourage people to participate in the September 27 protest.
Aleema Khan’s Detention
Aleema Khan was detained on Sunday under a similar MPO order issued by the Lahore deputy commissioner. The order also named Muhammad Ameer for detention or arrest.
Aleema’s sister Noreen later told a press conference in Lahore that Aleema had been taken into custody along with her driver after leaving her residence. Her lawyer, Advocate Mudassir Umar, said at the time that they had not yet received official confirmation of the arrest.
Police sources subsequently confirmed that Aleema had been taken to Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Following the detention of all three sisters, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja announced the formation of an organising committee to manage the party’s affairs in Lahore. He said consultations would also be held with Punjab parliamentarians.
Former lawmaker Malik Zaheer Abbas was named convener of the committee, with Haroon Akbar, Asghar Gujjar, Awais Anjum, Yasir Gillani and Amir Qureshi as members.
PTI Crackdown Ahead of September 27 Protest
The detention of Imran Khan’s sisters comes amid reported arrests and preventive detention orders against PTI members in Punjab ahead of the party’s September 27 protest and planned march towards Islamabad.
Sahiwal police on Sunday reportedly arrested former municipal corporation mayor and former PTI ticket-holder Asad Khan Baloch, along with PTI Sahiwal city president Muhammad Shahid Chohan.
PTI also alleged that MNAs Sanaullah Mastikhel, Ahsan Jamal Khan and Mian Ghous had been taken into custody.
District administrations have also issued preventive detention orders against dozens of PTI workers under the MPO, including 31 people in one Punjab notification and another 14 in Toba Tek Singh.
Similar measures have been reported in Islamabad, where PTI plans to hold its march on September 27.
The government has said it will prevent the march, while the Islamabad High Court has ruled that no political party or its leadership has a lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas or government buildings in the capital.
