Pakistan’s Punjab authorities on Sunday ordered the detention of Aleema Khan, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, for 30 days.
She was arrested in Lahore and subsequently sent to jail.
According to the official detention order, the matter was considered at a meeting of the District Intelligence Committee held on September 20, where the committee unanimously recommended her detention and that of her driver, Muhammad Amir, after reviewing material and evidence provided by police.
According to the police report cited in the detention proceedings, Khan and Amir had incited PTI workers during the May 9 protests and road blockades to damage government and public property. The report further alleged that they continued to mobilize party workers through social media and public gatherings.
The detention comes ahead of a PTI protest march toward Islamabad scheduled for September 27. The party has urged supporters from across Pakistan to travel to the capital and, according to PTI, is organizing the march over concerns about Imran Khan’s solitary confinement and what it describes as his deteriorating health.
Lahore Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ejaz, exercising powers under Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, ordered that Khan and Amir be detained for 30 days. The order states that both will be held at Central Jail Kot Lakhpat in Lahore.
The order further states that both individuals have the right to file an application or make a representation to the provincial government against the decision.
Security measures have been stepped up in Islamabad ahead of the planned protest, while authorities have also launched a crackdown on PTI workers in several parts of the country.
Earlier this month, authorities in Rawalpindi issued detention orders against PTI workers ahead of the planned march.
PTI has condemned Aleema Khan’s arrest outside her residence, describing it as illegal.
In a statement issued by its central media department, the party said Khan was arrested because she had been speaking out against the imprisonment of her brother, his alleged solitary confinement and what it described as the denial of adequate medical facilities to him.
PTI alleged that the arrest was an act of political retaliation rather than a legal measure, claiming that its purpose was to further aggravate the situation and provoke a reaction. The party also accused the government of invoking law and order concerns to defend its position.
The party called for Aleema Khan’s immediate release, disclosure of her whereabouts and her safe presentation before a court. It also demanded an end to what it described as a campaign of harassment against Imran Khan’s family.
PTI warned that the government would be held responsible if Aleema Khan was not released immediately.
The party’s Central Punjab spokesperson, retired Brigadier Mushtaq, separately condemned the arrest and claimed that a large number of PTI workers had also been detained as part of the crackdown.
