PTI founder Imran Khan‘s sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan Niazi and Uzma Khan — ended their sit-in and left Rawalpindi’s Factory Naka on Tuesday night, hours after they were again barred from moving towards Adiala jail in a bid to meet the incarcerated ex-premier.
Over the past several weeks, the PTI founder has been denied meetings in prison with his family, party members and lawyers, prompting them to stage sit-ins near or outside the prison complex every Tuesday and Thursday — the court-mandated days for visiting Imran. At times, police also used water cannons and baton charges to disperse them.
A media correspondent said that the PTI founder’s sisters left Factory Naka at around 9:30pm and moved towards Gorakhpur on foot, before heading home. Meanwhile, traffic resumed on the thoroughfare as soon as the 6-hour sit-in ended.
Half an hour before that, the Saddar police station house officer arrived at the protest site and began negotiations with PTI’s Shaukat Basra and Meena Khan Afridi. After initial talks, the PTI leaders reached out to Imran’s sisters for consultation.
An earlier post shared on the PTI’s official X account showed that the sit-in was ongoing at 7pm. In a video shared in the post, PTI workers are seen shouting slogans of “Prime Minister Imran Khan“.
A media correspondent confirmed that police had installed a riot fence near the Factory Naka in Rawalpindi, and upon reaching the spot, Imran’s sister, along with party workers, staged a sit-in.
Earlier today, a PTI livestream showed crowds of party supporters marching towards the prison on Adiala Road, before being stopped in front of the riot fence, where they chanted slogans and waved Pakistani and PTI flags.
On the occasion, Aleema said that Imran was being kept in “solitary confinement”, stressing that the “government had become so fearful of Imran’s message that they had resorted to breaking the law” — in a reference to the police presence at the scene.
Speaking to reporters, Aleema said that the authorities are afraid of Imran, which is why they have jailed him.
When asked about the statement issued after the TTAP’s two-day conference, she said it “was not a statement”.
“The PTI people are saying that they want to negotiate (with the government), I responded by saying that Imran Khan has instructed Sohail Afridi to take to the streets and lead a movement,” she said.
She added that this last message came from lawyer Salman Safdar, who represented the PTI founder when he was convicted in the Toshakhana 2 case on Saturday.
“Whoever says that we should negotiate with the government after Imran gave these instructions, they cannot be a member of Imran Khan’s party,” Aleema stated.
“We will sit here and we will not leave Imran Khan.
She questioned what the government wants to negotiate when meetings with the PTI founder have been banned.
“Tell me why I cannot have meetings (with Imran),“ she said.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja spoke to reporters and said that the party’s struggle is now a national one for democracy and judicial independence.
“These punishments are unlawful and wrong,” Raja said when asked about Imran’s conviction. “Punishments have been handed out before. These are false cases.
“We are standing against a system of lies and will file appeals. But the true cases will be fought in the public‘s court and Allah’s court,” he added.
Raja said that Imran would be released when “the people decide on this case”.
Asked about the street movement, the secretary general said that Imran instructed the KP CM to lead it in the province.
“Sohail Afridi is ready and this will occur soon,” he replied, adding that when the time comes, there will be a similar movement in Punjab.
In response to a question about negotiations with the government, Raja said: “These are false reports; Imran has given nobody in the party the power to start talks with the government.
“Only [TTAP chief Mahmood Khan] Achakzai and [Senator] Allama Nasir have the power to do this,” he added. “Achakzai sahib gave his statement during the conference. He said that he will not negotiate with people who break into and rob his house.”
Raja affirmed that the PTI would stand by its principles and their claim that the February 8 elections were “stolen”.
Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a 14-year sentence at the Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. Bushra Bibi is also serving a seven-year sentence in £190 million corruption case.
As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked, Imran’s family and party have expressed concerns about the conditions in which he is being kept inside the prison. A United Nations’ special rapporteur has also warned that Imran is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
On Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan would remain suspended till February 8.
More to follow.
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