Uzma Khan, Noreen Niazi released: Imran Khan's sisters freed, Aleema held
Imran Khan's sisters Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi left Kot Lakhpat Jail on Thursday after about 50 days. Why Aleema Khan is still detained.
Two of former prime minister Imran Khan’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, walked out of Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Thursday, 12 November, after roughly 50 days in detention. Their lawyer, Mudassar Umer, wrote on X that both women had been released and “have arrived home safely”. The third sister, Aleema Khan, is still being held.
Why were they released?
The Punjab government withdrew the detention orders it had issued against the two sisters, their lawyer and PTI said. PTI leader Moonis Elahi also said the release came after the orders were withdrawn. Reuters and Al Jazeera both carried the lawyer’s account.
The Express Tribune reported that the sisters had spent 50 days in custody under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, the public-safety law that lets the government hold people without charge for a set period. ARY News put the figure at 53 days, so the exact count depends on which day you start from.
The two women were handed over to Noreen Niazi’s daughter, Hajra Niazi, according to the Tribune.
Why were they held in the first place?
The three sisters were detained on the same day in September. The authorities used the MPO law to stop them from rallying people for a nationwide protest demanding Imran Khan’s release, Al Jazeera reported. During her detention, Noreen Niazi was moved to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore after reports that her health had worsened.
The sisters have been the most visible family voices for Imran Khan since he was jailed, regularly speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after meeting him, and they have clashed with police there before.
What about Aleema Khan?
Aleema Khan was not part of Thursday’s release. She is held under a separate detention order, and her lawyers are seeking its withdrawal, the Tribune reported. The Punjab government has not said publicly why her order was kept in place while her sisters’ orders were dropped.
Why it matters
The release comes a day after Imran Khan was taken to PIMS in Islamabad for eye treatment and then met his lawyers in Adiala on the Islamabad High Court’s orders. PTI has been pushing for family and legal access to the jailed former prime minister for months, and the detention of his sisters had become one of its main complaints.
The next thing to watch is Aleema Khan’s case: whether the Punjab government withdraws her order too, or her lawyers take it to court.
