Pakistan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will proceed with its planned September 27 protest demanding the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, even as legal challenges have been filed against the preventive detention of his three sisters.A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court on Monday challenging the 30-day detention orders issued against Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, according to a report by Pakistan-based daily The Express Tribune, as cited by news agency ANI.The petition, filed by Shahraiz Khan, son of Aleema Khan, seeks to have the detention orders declared invalid and the immediate release of the three women.The detention orders were issued by the Lahore deputy commissioner on September 20 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, ahead of PTI’s planned September 27 demonstrations.Aleema Khan was detained earlier, while Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were detained on Monday.The petition alleged that Aleema Khan was intercepted while travelling for personal errands and that there was no public gathering or situation at the time that could pose a threat to public order. It also stated that Aleema Khan and her driver, Muhammad Ameer, were being held at Lahore Central Jail.The petitioner described Aleema Khan as a law-abiding individual and alleged that the detention order did not contain specific allegations justifying preventive detention.The respondents named in the petition include the home department secretary, Lahore deputy commissioner, capital city police officer and Lahore Central Jail superintendent, according to The Express Tribune.
PTI says September 27 protest will go ahead
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi said on Monday that PTI would go ahead with its September 27 protest “at all costs”. He said the party would announce its detailed protest plan on September 25 and mobilise workers across Pakistan.Afridi said arrests of PTI provincial ministers and lawmakers had begun ahead of the protest, prompting an emergency meeting of the party’s parliamentary group.He said the party had pursued “all constitutional and democratic avenues” but was being prevented from meeting Imran Khan despite court orders.Afridi said PTI had no intention of confrontation and would pursue its demands through peaceful and democratic means. He also said party workers would not carry weapons during the protest.PTI chairman Barrister Gohar said the party was not planning to “storm” Islamabad and would not take the law and order situation into its own hands. He said the authorities were provoking the party but PTI would not come to Islamabad “like terrorists”.Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, meanwhile, said the government would not allow the September 27 protest to disrupt Islamabad. Speaking to reporters in Lahore on Monday, he said preparations were under way for an “assault” and that the government would not allow the capital to be shut down.
Family condemns detentions
Imran Khan’s son, Kasim Khan, also condemned the detention of his relatives and appealed for international intervention.In a post on X, he said, “This is a disgrace. Now my Aunts Dr Uzma and Noreen, along with my cousins Shershah and Shahrez, have now been abducted as well. They have broken into my aunties’ and cousins’ houses and forced them into vehicles with no explanation. No reasons for arrest have been stated.”He added, “No news has been released as to where they have been taken. This is criminal behaviour. Inexcusable. The Pakistani people are petrified of their own leaders. No upstanding nation should tolerate this criminal establishment. Intervention is now imperative. The world MUST take action.”The arrests come as PTI prepares for the September 27 protest seeking the release of Imran Khan, who has been in jail since 2023 and is currently held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
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