Punjab police raided the homes of Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan, and Noreen Khan in Lahore, seizing the former prime minister's sisters and their nephews. While the children were released shortly after the raids, the three women faced a different fate. They are now locked behind the bars of Kot Lakhpat Jail, the same facility holding their brother, 73-year-old Imran Khan.
The arrests followed a direct order from Lahore's Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ijaz. He issued two separate directives for a 30-day detention under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order law. Aleema Khan was taken into custody on Sunday, with her sisters following on Monday. PTI spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari described the operation as an abduction, claiming police forcibly removed the women from their homes.
"We will not allow them to block roads and disrupt people's lives," Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated bluntly. He labeled PTI's upcoming September 27 protest call illegal. The timing is no coincidence. The party has been escalating pressure for Imran Khan's release, who has been incarcerated since 2023 and recently received a 17-year corruption sentence alongside his wife.
Khan, the former cricket captain turned PM (2018-2022), denies all charges. His removal from office in 2022 stemmed from a no-confidence vote, a move widely viewed as a culmination of tensions with the military establishment. Now, with his sisters detained and the protest date fixed, the political standoff in Lahore is reaching a breaking point.