Lahore, September 20, 2026: Authorities have detained Aleema Khan, sister of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, under a 30-day detention order issued by Lahore Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ijaz, as the party prepares for a countrywide protest and march towards Islamabad on September 27.
According to the detention order dated September 20, Aleema Khan and another individual, Muhammad Ameer, were ordered to be detained under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960 (MPO). The order directs that they be held at Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.
Police sources confirmed that Aleema had been taken to Kot Lakhpat jail.
The order, citing a letter from the Lahore Capital City Police Officer, said police reports had described Aleema and Ameer as posing a threat to public safety and the maintenance of public order. It alleged that the two had been involved in roadblocks and protests on May 9, 2023, and had motivated workers to damage public and government property.
The order further alleged that they were mobilising workers through social media and public meetings, raising what it termed objectionable slogans and attempting to provoke or incite people against the government and state institutions.
According to the order, multiple cases had been registered against the two, while the Civil Lines Division Superintendent of Police and District Intelligence Branch in-charge recommended their detention for 30 days to maintain law and order in Lahore.
Family disputes arrest account
Aleema’s sister, Noreen Niazi, said at a press conference in Lahore that Aleema had been “picked up” along with her driver after leaving her residence on Saturday. She claimed the family later learned that Aleema’s vehicle was parked at a police station.
Aleema’s lawyer, Advocate Mudassir Umar, said the legal team had not initially received official confirmation of the detention. He said the government should formally acknowledge the arrest so that the family could pursue legal remedies.
Umar also claimed that police had informed a court that Aleema was not involved in the Jinnah House attack case relating to the May 9 riots. He alleged that the MPO order appeared to have been issued after she had already been taken into custody and linked the action to her being Imran Khan’s sister. These claims were made by the lawyer and were not independently established in the material provided.
Noreen described the detention as an attempt to put pressure on the PTI ahead of its September 27 protest and urged supporters not to be intimidated.
PTI condemns detention
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the detention, saying the party had made clear that its September 27 protest would be peaceful.
He said the party’s objective was to pursue its constitutional and political demands without violence or confrontation, and argued that detaining Aleema under the MPO could increase tensions. He called for her immediate release.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram also demanded that Aleema be presented before a court, while the party earlier alleged on social media that she had been “abducted” outside her Lahore residence.
The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) also condemned the detention and demanded Aleema’s release, describing the move as political repression and calling for the release of other people it considers political prisoners.
PTI workers detained ahead of September 27 protest
Aleema’s detention comes amid a series of preventive actions against PTI workers in Punjab ahead of the planned September 27 protest.
District authorities have reportedly issued preventive detention orders under the MPO against dozens of PTI workers, including 31 people in one Punjab notification and another 14 in Toba Tek Singh.
Similar measures have been reported in Islamabad, where PTI plans to march on the day of the protest. The government has said it will prevent the march, while the Islamabad High Court has ruled that political parties and their leadership do not have a lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas or buildings in Islamabad.
On Saturday, Islamabad police detained four PTI activists and workers following a raid on a meeting reportedly held at a property dealer’s office in E-16.
Police said the workers had been meeting in connection with the planned protest and alleged that they resisted the raid, assaulted members of the police team, tore their uniforms and held them hostage. The allegations were attributed to police.
Earlier this week, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said he had been briefly detained and subsequently released, with the party saying he had been taken into custody by Islamabad police.
Meanwhile, police and capital administration authorities have begun preparations to deal with the September 27 protest, with hundreds of containers reportedly positioned at entry points of Islamabad as the administration prepares for possible demonstrations.
