ISLAMABAD: The PTI accused police of subjecting its workers to violence and arresting them near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where they were staging a sit-in on Tuesday.
The IHC has allowed Imran twice-a-week meetings — on Tuesday and Thursdays — with his family, lawyers and other associates. Despite the order, the ex-premier has not been allowed any visitors for weeks, including his sisters and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Therefore, protests and sit-ins near the Adiala jail, where Imran has been incarcerated since September 2023, have become a usual occurrence on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On several occasions, police have also used force to disperse the protesters, who often camp at Factory Naka — a police picket near the prison.
Imran’s sisters and supporters again staged a sit-in near the prison today while a PTI post on social media platform alleged that police had inflicted violence on party workers and arrested them as well.
A livestream on the PTI’s YouTube channel showed one of Imran’s sisters, Aleema Khanum, surrounded by party workers and supporters, including children, sitting on the ground and shouting slogans.
However, videos posted by PTI leader Aliya Hamza Malik from earlier in the evening showed men, appearing to be policemen, detaining people. Malik claimed in her post on X that lawmaker Mehar Abdul Sattar, along with party workers, had been arrested.
A video posted by Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Moeen Riaz Qureshi showed a large contingent of police riot gear. The caption said “a large contingent of police is approaching”.
The sit-in, however, continued despite the alleged police action.
Speaking to reporters at the spot, Aleema demanded a meeting with Imran and immediate medical treatment for his eye condition Al-Shifa Hospital.
“They have made a joke out of this, they have to provide him medical treatment,” she emphasised.
The PTI has been raising concerns about Imran’s health after reports emerged, and later the government confirmed, that he was treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).
Speaking to Geo News, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said last week that the former premier was taken to Pims in Islamabad for a “20-minute” medical procedure on Imran’s eye on the night of January 24. He said the ex-premier was then taken back to the Adiala jail with “important instructions”.
The PTI has also condemned the act of “secretly transferring” Imran to Pims, deliberately keeping his family and the party leadership uninformed, and denying him access to personal physicians.
Aleema said about the development today that information about the Pims visit had been “leaked” and neither she, nor anyone else in Imran’s family was informed.
“They quietly took him late at night. They might be worried that something might happen to him (Imran), but why leak it?” she questioned. “Why weren’t we told that he was taken to the hospital?” Aleema added.
She said they had to meet Imran and said that Imran medical check-up be conducted in the presence of his physician, Dr Aasim Yusuf. She also called for the examination of Imran’s eye by a specialist doctor.
While Aleema was staging a sit-in, the Rawalpindi sub-divisional police officer approached her with warrants issued for her by an anti-terrorism court in the garrison city on Monday, and Aleema signed the warrants.
The sit-in was still under way at around midnight, when last updates were received. However, the number of participants had reduced by then. Imran’s all three sister were still present at the spot though.
PTI to file another contempt plea
Earlier, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja was at the Islamabad High Court to initiate the process of filing yet another contempt of court petition against Adiala jail authorities for repeatedly denying party leaders permission to meet Imran.
Announcing his party’s plans again moving the court against jail authorities, Raja said while speaking to reporters on the court premises that this would be the “sixth contempt petition” filed on the matter.
The PTI and Imran’s sisters both have previously filed contempt petitions against Adiala jail authorities over non-compliance with the IHC order.
Today, Raja said while speaking to reporters at the IHC that he was at the court to file “another contempt of court petition” over what he deemed was “continued and deliberate non-compliance with court orders”.
“This is not the first time; this is the sixth contempt petition,” Raja said, adding that despite clear judicial directions, prison officials had consistently obstructed access to the PTI founder.
“No constitution prevents a prisoner from speaking, and the jail rule being cited to restrict meetings is itself unconstitutional,” he asserted, without specifying which rule he was referring to.
Raja maintained that while incarceration lawfully curtailed a person’s physical freedom, it did not “extinguish fundamental rights altogether”.
The PTI leader said while a prisoner’s freedom was taken away, they could not be deprived of their capability to think and speak.
“When someone goes to meet a prisoner, he can say whatever comes to his mind. There is no law that allows the state to censor thought or speech in this manner,” the PTI leader added.
Raja alleged that restrictions on meetings with Imran were “not administrative but political in nature”, aimed at “silencing the former premier and controlling the political narrative”.
“An attempt is being made to hide the hollowness of the system,” he said, further alleging that authorities were trying to bury what he described as the “lie of February 8” — seemingly a reference to the 2024 general elections, which the PTI has repeatedly alleged were rigged.
He alleged that efforts were being made to hide that “people’s vote was robbed”, further accusing the state of “sending a message of submission” to the public. “They are telling the people that your destiny is only subjugation, that your vote and your voice have no value,” he said, without naming anyone.
Raja further alleged that the continued denial of meetings with Imran was intended to create an atmosphere of fear and helplessness.
“They are giving the people the impression that the freedom of your leaders is at our mercy,” he said, adding that such actions struck at the heart of democratic norms and constitutional guarantees.
Raja described Imran Khan as the country’s most popular political leader and claimed that those in power were unnerved by his influence even from behind bars.
“The founder of PTI is the biggest leader in the country, and today they are scared and terrified,” he said. “Their aim is to silence the voice of the founder of PTI.”
Additional input from Ikram Junaidi and Mohammad Asghar
