RAWALPINDI: Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters and party workers staged a sit-in at Rawalpindi’s Factory Naka on Tuesday after they were again barred from meeting the former prime minister.
Sit-ins at Factory Naka — which is a short distance away from the Adiala jail — on Tuesdays and Thursdays by PTI workers and supporters, as well as Imran’s sisters, have become a usual occurrence as they continue to be restricted from meeting the ex-premier for the past several weeks.
A court order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 24, 2025 mandated that meetings with Imran would be permitted twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Despite the IHC’s order, Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi — along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, have tried and failed to meet Imran.
Routes to the Adiala jail were blocked on Tuesday, including at Factory Naka and Dahgal Naka, amid a large police presence.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was stopped at Dahgal Naka while several others, including Imran’s sisters, were barred from moving beyond Factory Naka.
Similarly, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja posted on social media platform X at around 3pm that he had been stopped at a police checkpoint right after he crossed Bahria Town.
Later, in a video shared by the PTI on X around 8pm, he detailed that he was also stopped at Chakri. “I was again stopped around two to three miles away from Chakri, now we have finally reached here (near the Adiala jail),” he added.
In a video posted on X by the PTI, Aleema said, “We had to recite and finish the Quran here, but they are afraid of it … what kind of people are they? They have strictly blocked all the routes to Adiala.”
On Monday, Aleema had called on PTI supporters to come to Adiala jail for Khatam-i-Quran.
“We will sit here,” she asserted, adding that “the oppressors are afraid”.
“Why have they arrested him (Imran)? Why are they denying meetings with him? Why is he kept in solitary confinement?“ she asked.
Aleema said that last week, jail authorities had stated that a meeting would be arranged, which is why the party wrapped up its sit-in.
“They do this every time,” she said. “We have told Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mehmood Achakzai about this; however, they insisted on giving them a chance.”
Meanwhile, those at the sit-in at Factory Naka shouted slogans in favour of Imran as the route to Adiala jail from that spot remained completely blocked.
Earlier in the day, Aleema asserted while speaking to the media that “we will do whatever needs to be done” for Imran’s release. She also called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi “the future of Pakistan”, adding that the “youth in Pakistan have buried the old politics”.
“This is new politics,” she said. On the PTI founder’s messages from jail, she said “whatever messages he sends” were posted on X.
Imran does not have access to the internet in jail, and it remains unclear who operates his X account. However, it has had posts described as his messages from jail following his meetings with his family and other associates.
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