Aleema Khanum, the sister of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, has been arrested ahead of planned demonstrations calling for his release from prison.
She was reportedly taken into custody on Sunday afternoon over claims that she had rallied her brother’s supporters through social media activity and public gatherings.
Authorities have ordered that Ms Khanum remain in detention for 30 days.
The arrest comes days before protests expected to take place across Pakistan in opposition to the imprisonment of Mr Khan, the country’s former prime minister.
Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison in 2023 after being convicted of failing to declare money linked to the sale of gifts he received while serving in office.
The 73-year-old former Pakistan cricket captain has since faced more than 100 charges, including allegations involving the sale of state secrets and official gifts.
Mr Khan has consistently denied wrongdoing, arguing that the cases against him are politically driven.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has condemned Ms Khanum’s detention as an “illegal detention” and an “abduction”, while her son has called for her immediate release.
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan received a three-year prison sentence in 2023 after being accused of failing to declare money from the sale of gifts received during his time in office. Mr Khan has denied the allegations
Aleema Khanum has been detained ahead of protests scheduled for September 27 calling for her brother’s release
The detention order alleges that Ms Khanum used social media and public meetings to mobilise supporters of her brother. It states that she will remain in custody for 30 days, covering the period leading up to the planned protests.
Ms Khanum has been an outspoken opponent of Imran Khan’s imprisonment, frequently addressing his supporters and speaking publicly to the media.
The arrest precedes demonstrations due to be held across Pakistan on September 27. Protesters are expected to march towards Islamabad, the national capital, to demand Mr Khan’s release.
Police have confirmed that Ms Khanum was arrested and said she will be held at Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore, according to the BBC.
Earlier on Sunday, however, members of Ms Khanum’s family said they had been unable to contact her and had received no information about where she was being held.
Her son, Shahrez Khan, posted on X: “We demand that the government immediately reveal her whereabouts and guarantee her safe return.”
The PTI also criticised the arrest, writing in a statement: “There is no religion or law left in this country. This is not the arrest of Aleema Khan; it is an abduction.”
The party added that anyone wanting Pakistan to remain a society governed by justice and law should take to the streets on September 27.
In another post published on Sunday night alongside a photograph of Imran Khan and his sister, the party accused the country’s “fake rulers” of intensifying what it described as oppression throughout Pakistan.
It further claimed that institutions operating under the name of security forces had made ordinary Pakistani citizens feel unsafe.
The party has also claimed that Pakistani authorities have carried out ‘raids’ on Imran Khan’s family members.
Last month it was reported that the ex-premier would be moved from solitary confinement to hospital following repeated appeals from his family over his health.
The former Pakistan captain was imprisoned in Rawalpindi three years ago and is serving two separate sentences of 17 and 14 years respectively for charges including corruption.
However, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan, sons of the cricketer-turned-politician, called his quarters a ‘death cell’, plagued by inhumane conditions.
‘He’s been in a solitary confinement cell for over two years where he’s had filthy water, he is around inmates who are dying of hepatitis, the conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact,’ Kasim said last December.
Adding that his father was being subjected to ‘psychological torture tactics’ as even the prison guards were not allowed to communicate with him.
Supporters welcome politician Sohail Afridi in Hyderabad, Pakistan, this month ahead of a planned protest demanding the release of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s founder Imran Khan
Mr Khan is serving two separate sentences of 17 and 14 years respectively for charges including corruption
Khan, who led the country between 2018 and 2022, has allegedly spent up to 23 hours a day in isolation.
Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan’s political party PTI, said: ‘It’s a very welcome order and we wish it had happened sooner so his eye and general health would not have deteriorated this much.
‘He should remain in hospital until all doctors are satisfied.’
In February, 14 cricket greats from around the world including ex-England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton launched a humanitarian appeal for better treatment for Khan in an open letter.
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In the interim, the courts have denied two requests to action a similar hospital transfer.
His sons have continued to campaign for him, saying he was being kept in ‘completely substandard conditions that don’t meet international law for any sort of prisoner’.
They said they were worried they would never see him again, having not done so since he was jailed due to a lack of visas.
During his time as an international cricketer, Khan became one of the most successful all-rounders in history, featuring in 88 Test matches and concluding his career by leading Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992.
His supporters have taken to the streets to demand his release on multiple occasions since his arrest in May 2023.
But Pakistan has since been accused of trying to kill Imran Khan by the politician’s sons.
Earlier this month it was reported the cricket legend had been denied access to court-ordered medical care and instead forced to remain in his 6ft by 8ft solitary confinement cell.
Khan’s sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, said they expect a similar scenario to play out as the death of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2019.
Mr Morsi died in a court room from a heart attack which many human rights organisations believe was brought on by the abuse and neglect he experienced in solitary confinement.
Kasim, 27, told Times Radio that he feared an assassination and that multiple prisoners have died from hepatitis in the jail due to the poor conditions, something he worries that his father could contract.
Authorities could then ‘eventually blame it on natural death’, in reference to his father contracting the deadly disease.
Lawyers have said Khan’s health had recently deteriorated in the barbaric conditions which prompted the Supreme Court to intervene and order a transfer to a private hospital where an independent health assessment could be made.
However, he was briefly taken instead to a government hospital where he was deemed fit to return to his cell – despite him reportedly losing 85 per cent of his vision in his right eye due to a blood clot.
Last month, Sky Sport broadcast an interview with the two sons during an England v Pakistan cricket match, which prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to threaten abandoning the match
Khan’s sons Sulaiman and Kasim have said they fear their father will be assassinated by Pakistani authorities
‘He himself said that he feared that the Pakistani establishment could be looking to do to him what happened to Morsi in Egypt. He directly made that comparison. So that is our fear, definitely,’ Sulaiman, 29, said.
The sons, whose mother is heiress Jemima Goldsmith, accused the British government of insufficient support and are hopeful to speak with the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham about it.
Sulaiman and Kasim have not seen their father since his assassination attempt four years ago and have not been able to visit Pakistan due to visa issues.
David Lammy advised them while serving as Foreign Secretary not to travel to Pakistan should visas be granted – this was due to the UK not being able to offer support should they be arrested on Pakistani soil, he said.
The sons hope to discuss with Mr Burnham the possibility of travelling to Islamabad and arranging some support from the UK, which would be enough to dissuade Pakistani officials from arresting them.
‘There’s nothing they fear more than foreign countries, foreign intervention. But as long as we go without any kind of support, then they have complete power in Pakistan, they can do absolutely anything. They’re very, very unpredictable and chaotic,’ they said.
Sulaiman also told Times Radio that he believed his father had been offered deals like house arrest or exile but would not have taken them as he would be restricted on what he could say and would not abandon fellow party members similarly behind bars.
The sons have previously described his inhumane quarters that he has been living in for over two years as a ‘death cell’ with ‘filthy water’.
‘The conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact,’ Kasim said.
Their last contact with their father was six months ago through a phone call.
He added that his father was being subjected to ‘psychological torture tactics’ as even the prison guards were not allowed to communicate with him as he spends 23 hours in isolation.
Khan complained of high blood pressure, heart palpitations and anxiety to his sister who was allowed to join him for a short period while in the government hospital.
International efforts to improve Khan’s living conditions came together once again in February, when 14 cricket greats from around the world, including ex-England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton, launched a humanitarian appeal for better treatment for Khan in an open letter.
He enjoyed popular support when he became premier in 2018 but fell out with the king-making military establishment and was booted from power in a 2022 no-confidence vote.
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