Three of Imran Khan’s sisters spent this week in a Lahore jail cell, not over a criminal charge, but under a public-order law dating back to 1960. Here’s a plain-language look at how that happened, why the timing matters, and what it could mean for PTI’s planned march on Islamabad.
Summary
Between Sunday and Monday, Punjab Police detained Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, and Noreen Niazi under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance. All three are now held at Kot Lakhpat Jail for a 30-day period. The timing, one week before PTI’s planned September 27 protest march to Islamabad, has drawn sharp criticism from the party, which calls the detentions politically motivated.
Background
PTI founder Imran Khan has been imprisoned in Adiala Jail since 2023. His party has organized repeated protests demanding his release, and tensions between PTI and Punjab’s provincial government, run by a rival party, have stayed high for years. The upcoming march is being framed by PTI leadership as a renewed push for Khan’s release and for what the party calls constitutional supremacy.
The MPO Ordinance itself is a holdover from Pakistan’s colonial-era legal framework. It gives district administrators, in this case Lahore’s deputy commissioner, the power to detain someone for up to a month if intelligence or police reports suggest their presence in public could threaten order. Because it’s a preventive measure rather than a criminal charge, it doesn’t require the same court process an arrest warrant would.
Details
Aleema Khan was the first to be detained, taken from her home on Sunday and moved to Kot Lakhpat Jail. The following morning, PTI said Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi had also been picked up, along with several of their children, and PTI’s information secretary described them being driven off in an armoured vehicle to an unknown location, a claim that stirred confusion and alarm within the party for several hours.
By Monday, the picture became clearer: Uzma and Noreen were confirmed to be at Kot Lakhpat, transferred there around 2am under their own MPO orders. According to a Dawn report, the order tied their detention to the May 9 protests, alleging they encouraged workers to damage government property, a reference to unrest tied to earlier PTI demonstrations. Aleema’s two sons were also briefly detained before being let go.
PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan pushed back publicly, insisting the party’s protest plans remain peaceful and that the government’s approach risks escalating a situation PTI says it wants to keep non-violent.
Impact
Detaining three women from a former prime minister’s own family, without a formal criminal case attached to the MPO orders, is the kind of move that tends to generate coverage well beyond Pakistan’s borders. It also puts Punjab’s provincial government in an awkward spot: officials have to justify the detentions as preventive and security-related, while PTI frames them as an attempt to intimidate a jailed leader’s relatives right before a major protest.
Practically, the detentions could also complicate the run-up to the September 27 march itself, since Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen had all been visible, vocal figures in PTI’s public campaigning, including previous attempts to visit Imran Khan at Adiala Jail.
Conclusion
The 30-day detention period means Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen are set to remain in custody through and beyond the planned march date, unless the orders are challenged and overturned in court first. How PTI responds, and whether the march goes ahead as planned, will likely shape the next stretch of this story.
FAQs
Is Dr. Uzma Khan Imran Khan’s sister?
9Yes, Dr. Uzma Khan is one of Imran Khan’s four sisters. She was detained along with sister Noreen Niazi in Lahore in September 2026 under the MPO Ordinance, joining sister Aleema Khan, who had been detained a day earlier. Uzma has regularly appeared alongside her sisters at PTI-related events and gatherings tied to Imran Khan’s imprisonment.
Why was Imran Khan imprisoned?
Imran Khan has been held in Adiala Jail since 2023 after being convicted in cases his party describes as politically driven rather than criminal in nature. He has remained in custody through subsequent legal proceedings, and his release is the central demand behind PTI’s ongoing protest campaign, including the march planned for September 27, 2026.
How many Imran Khan sisters are there?
Imran Khan has four sisters: Aleema Khan, Dr. Uzma Khan, Noreen Niazi, and Rubina Khanum. Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen have been the most publicly active in PTI’s political activities over the years, and all three were detained by Punjab Police within about a day of each other in September 2026, drawing significant attention to the party’s family members.
