PTI announced on Monday that it will go ahead with a protest on September 27 in Islamabad, calling for the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, after the Lahore Deputy Commissioner issued 30‑day preventive detentions of Khan’s sisters Aleema, Uzma and Noreen on September 20.
The detentions were issued under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, and the sisters’ son Shahraiz Khan filed a petition in the Lahore High Court on Monday seeking to have the orders declared invalid and for immediate release.
Sohail Afridi, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said PTI would mobilise workers nationwide and would announce a detailed plan on September 25, noting that arrests of provincial ministers had begun ahead of the protest.
Gohar, PTI chairman, warned that the party would not storm Islamabad or take law and order into its own hands, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared the government would prevent any disruption and had prepared for an “assault” to keep the capital functioning.
Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan condemned the detentions on X, calling the arrests a disgrace and demanding international intervention, while PTI says it has pursued all constitutional avenues and is being blocked from meeting Khan despite court orders.
The Lahore High Court is expected to rule on the petition within the next few days, and PTI plans to proceed with the protest unless the court lifts the detention orders.