The PTI claimed late Tuesday that police “manhandled and violently detained” former prime minister Imran Khan’s sisters outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where they had been waiting after being refused their weekly court-sanctioned meeting with the party founder.
According to the PTI, the party had staged a protest outside the prison—where Imran is currently incarcerated—after the jail administration denied access to both senior leaders and family members. Following the protest, the party launched a sit-in, accusing the authorities of violating court orders by obstructing the visit.
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In a post shared on X after midnight, the PTI stated that Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan were “sitting peacefully” when police intervened. The party further alleged that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi, MNA Shahid Khattak and several women workers were “subjected to violence and taken into custody”.
The PTI criticised what it described as an oppressive misuse of what should be routine weekly, court-directed family meetings, calling it a violation of Imran Khan’s rights as a prisoner.
Videos uploaded by the party on X showed supporters, along with Aleema and Uzma, consoling Noreen, who appeared visibly distressed. “Those women were dragging her on the road,” Aleema said, as Noreen’s hands trembled.
In a subsequent video, Noreen alleged that female police officials grabbed her by the hair and forced her to the ground, insisting that PTI workers had been sitting peacefully. Aleema said Noreen was “nearly unconscious” while being dragged, adding, “Thank God we saw it happen and managed to free her.” She said the incident would not intimidate them and announced that they would hold a press conference later. “The way they dragged us, tore away our chaddors… they should be ashamed.”
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She further claimed their meeting with Imran Khan was denied because “Asim Munir’s notification has not yet been signed”.
In another statement, the PTI condemned what it termed the “inhumane, unlawful and disgraceful treatment” of Imran’s family. The party alleged that the sisters and legal team were made to wait from morning until late night and that the area where they were seated was deliberately flooded with water and plunged into darkness before the action was taken.
“One of the sisters was dragged across the road, manhandled and violently detained despite her cries,” the statement read, describing the incident as an “unprecedented assault on human dignity, constitutional freedoms and moral values”.
However, a senior Rawalpindi police official told Dawn that no action was taken other than removing protesters from the road.
‘A collective humiliation’
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi criticised the police action, noting that attempts were also made to arrest MNA Shahid Khattak and other lawmakers. “This is today’s Pakistan—where the sanctity of a woman’s veil is violated. Their only fault was coming to meet their brother,” former president Arif Alvi said.
Activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir condemned a pattern of tactics aimed at humiliation, referencing the iddat case involving Imran and Bushra Bibi and recent controversies. “It is a fallacy to think this is Imran Khan’s or PTI’s humiliation alone. It is our collective humiliation—the price of dissent, of demanding democracy and justice,” he said.
Senior journalist Hamid Mir warned that the treatment of Imran’s family was damaging Pakistan’s global reputation. “Our diplomats abroad are struggling to defend it,” he noted.
Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas called the incident “a slap on humanity and an example of gross abuse of state power,” adding that those involved were “not worthy of being called Muslims or Pakistanis”.
PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat termed the treatment of Noreen Khan “unacceptable brutality”. “The state has stooped to a new low,” he said. Another party leader, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, described the police conduct as “highly despicable” and “indefensible”.