Water cannons were again used by the law enforcement agencies on the PTI protesters staging a sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail after the family of former Prime Minister Imran Khan was denied a meeting with him on Wednesday night.
Imran’s sisters, including Aleema, Noreen, and Uzma, along with party workers and supporters, had staged a sit-in at Factory Naka, demanding the court-mandated meeting with the PTA founder by the authorities. A court order issued by the Islamabad High Court on March 24 had mandated that authorities should arrange the meeting with a family of Imran Khan with him twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
However, PTA protested that the order is not being followed by the authorities. Along with the family members of Imran Khan, Khabar Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi have also tried multiple times but failed to meet Imran Khan over the Adiyala jail. Last Tuesday, after being denied a meeting with the PTA, Chiefs and party supporters staged a sit-in, which was later dispersed with water cannons. This week too, police again resorted to water cannons to disperse the protesters.
The police started their operation at 2 am. Initially, water cannon vehicles were used to disperse the protesters while police later went on charging those who remained. Some of the party workers were also arrested. However, the number of the arrested party workers cannot be confirmed. Allama Raja Nasir, the leader of Majlis-e-Wahidat-ul-Muslimeen, who remained at the protest until late Tuesday night, condemned the inhumane treatment made to the protesters.
اڈیالہ جیل کے باہر ظلم کی ایک مزید کالی رات۔ شدید سردی میں نہتے کارکنان پر کیمیکل ملا پانی، واٹر کینن اور پتھراؤ کیا گیا۔ قائد عمران خان کی بہنوں کے تحفظ کیلئے کارکنان ڈٹ کر کھڑے رہے۔
ایک بار پھر تمام تر ریاستی جبر کے باوجود حق کی آواز دبائی نہ جا سکی۔
⁰مزاحمت زندہ ہے۔… pic.twitter.com/Ai92u08d0z— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 17, 2025
Meanwhile, the party platform on X at 4 am on Wednesday stated that it condemns, in harshest possible terms, the disregard of the IHC order and extreme state brutality witnessed outside the jail. The social media handle of PTI also posted videos of water cannons being used, unleashed on the unarmed protesters as a large contingent of police stood on the side.
PTI also claimed that the water had chemicals in it, as multiple protesters, including Aleema Khan, complained of burning on the skin after coming in contact with the water. During the sit-ins, some demonstrators even sprayed pro-PTI messages on the walls of petrol pumps and other structures near the protest site, some of the messages including number 804, which is reportedly Imran’s prison number. Imran Khan’s sister claims that they have no other option but to protest outside the jail to convince and to urge authorities to allow them to meet.