Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s sisters detained: Uzma, Noreen held for 30 days ahead of PTI protest

The two sisters were detained a day after Imran Khan’s other sister, Aleema Khan, was also detained after Lahore’s deputy commissioner ordered her detention or arrest for 30 days under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960.

According to an order dated September 20, a copy of which was obtained by Dawn, the Lahore DC’s office ordered the detention of Noreen and Uzma for 30 days under the MPO Ordinance, stating that their activities were “prejudicial to the public safety and maintenance of public order”.

The order alleged that the two had been involved in the May 9 protests and had “motivated the workers to damage public and government property”, Dawn reported.

It further alleged that they were mobilising workers through social media and public meetings to create a law-and-order situation and were raising or chanting “objectionable slogans” against the government and institutions.

The order said multiple cases had been registered against them, including case No. 96/23 at Race Course police station, and described the sisters as “potential dangers to public peace and tranquillity”.

The detentions came amid a reported crackdown on PTI supporters ahead of the party’s September 27 nationwide protest and march to Islamabad, which PTI has called for to demand Imran Khan’s release and what it describes as the “supremacy of the Constitution”.

Reacting to the developments, PTI spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari alleged on X that Punjab Police had raided Aleema Khan’s home and detained Imran Khan’s other sisters, along with family members. His claims could not be independently verified.

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan prime minister and former international cricket captain, has remained incarcerated since August 2023. He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have faced multiple legal cases and convictions, which they and their supporters have denied or challenged.

Khan came to power in 2018 after his PTI emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly following the general election. He was removed as prime minister in April 2022 after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote amid a political crisis and tensions with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.