Rawalpindi, December 17, 2025: Amnesty International on Wednesday strongly condemned the “repeated” use of high-pressure water cannons by authorities to disperse a sit-in outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, staged after family members of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan were denied a meeting with the former prime minister.
“The repeated use of high-pressure water cannons by authorities against peaceful protesters outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi is a flagrant violation of their right to peaceful assembly,” Amnesty said in a statement.
The rights body urged Pakistani authorities to “respect people’s right to peacefully protest and end the disproportionate and punitive use of force.”
The sit-in was launched after authorities once again barred Imran Khan’s sisters from meeting him. Under an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order issued on March 24 this year, meetings with Imran are to be allowed twice a week — on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, PTI maintains that the order has repeatedly been ignored.
Despite the court directive, Imran’s sisters, Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi, along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, have been unable to meet the jailed PTI founder for several weeks.
Last Tuesday, after being denied a meeting, Imran’s sisters and PTI supporters staged a protest outside the prison, which was dispersed using water cannons. Early on Wednesday, police again used water cannons to clear protesters, launching the operation around 2am. Police later baton-charged demonstrators who remained at the site.
Several PTI workers were arrested during the operation, though officials did not immediately confirm the number of detainees.
Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who remained at the protest until late Tuesday night, condemned what he described as the “inhuman treatment” of peaceful protesters.
