Pakistan Detains Imran Khan's Three Sisters, Extended Family Ahead of PTI's September 27 March

Pakistani authorities detained all three of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's sisters over a two-day span this weekend, days before his party's planned September 27 march on Islamabad. Aleema Khan was detained first, on Sunday, September 20. The Lahore deputy commissioner's office, headed by Muhammad Ali Ijaz, ordered her held for 30 days under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance of 1960, according to a copy of the order obtained by Dawn. Police confirmed she was moved to Kot Lakhpat Jail. Her driver, Muhammad Ameer, was detained under the same order. By Monday, September 21, her sisters Dr. Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were also detained for 30 days under the identical ordinance. The order, also reviewed by Dawn, accused both women of involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots and of continuing to "mobilise workers through social media and public meetings" to incite unrest. It cited case number 96/23 at Race Course police station among the grounds for detention, and said the women posed a "grave threat to public safety." The MPO ordinance authorities are using lets officials detain someone for up to 30 days on public-safety grounds while restricting normal judicial review, according to Dawn's reporting on the order's legal basis. Officials can detain without a criminal charge or conviction. No court has ruled on guilt or innocence, and no trial is underway on these detentions.

Kasim Khan's Broader Allegations Imran

Khan's son Kasim Khan, posting from outside Pakistan on X, alleged the crackdown went further than official confirmations show. He claimed his cousins Shershah and Shahrez were also taken from their homes without explanation, and that authorities "broke into my aunties and cousins houses and forced them into vehicles." "This is a disgrace," Kasim wrote, calling the detentions "criminal behaviour" and demanding international intervention. He then posted that Shahrez's two children, ages four and six, were temporarily unaccounted for, writing there was "no limit to their cruelty." He later said the children were safe, but claimed two additional cousins, Azeem and Sakeenah, had also been arrested with no reasons or location given. PTI's own statements, issued through Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, described family members being placed in an "armoured vehicle" and taken to an undisclosed location, but PTI's account largely tracks Kasim Khan's version rather than adding independent confirmation.

PTI's Case and the Government's Stated Justification

PTI has called the detentions "illegal and high-handed," a "blatant abuse of authority" and "political victimisation," arguing that targeting women and children of a political family exposes what the party calls the true character of the Punjab government. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said arresting Aleema Khan while she was already out on bail in her Lahore cases risks "fueling violence and tension" rather than preventing it, and said the party would announce its response. Detaining a politician's family members without formal charges, right before a planned opposition protest, using a law that limits judicial appeal, looks like the kind of state overreach that should worry anyone regardless of which party is in power. The Lahore DC's order offers the government's counter-argument directly in writing. It says Uzma and Noreen were tied to the May 9, 2023 unrest, were continuing to organize protest activity, and that unchecked, their activity would create conditions "prejudicial to public safety." Whether that justification holds up is exactly what critics say the MPO ordinance is designed to shield from real scrutiny, since it limits the judicial review that would normally test such claims. Separately, Imran Khan underwent a medical exam inside Adiala Jail, with a team from the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences checking his blood pressure, cholesterol and eyes, according to Geo News. PTI has pushed for his transfer to Shifa International Hospital for fuller evaluation, a move Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered on August 18. He was reportedly taken to PIMS instead of Shifa, according to The Statesman. The detained sisters remain in custody at Kot Lakhpat Jail with 30-day orders now in effect. Whether PTI's September 27 march to Islamabad proceeds as planned, and whether the additional family detentions Kasim Khan alleges get independently confirmed by Pakistani authorities or courts, are both still open questions.