Saturday, March 29, 2025
Pakistan | December 10, 2025
Tensions between jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the country’s military establishment have once again erupted into public outrage. This time, the crackdown targeted Khan’s elderly sisters, who were subjected to harsh treatment outside Adiala Jail while staging a peaceful protest.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan is backing Khan’s sisters after police charged them with water cannons. pic.twitter.com/r3B1Tt9YzN
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) December 9, 2025
On a freezing winter night, police used water cannons against Imran Khan’s sisters and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters who were sitting in a sit-in outside the high-security prison. The protest followed yet another denial by jail authorities to allow the family to meet Imran Khan—despite clear court orders permitting the visit.
In a statement posted on social media at 3:58 a.m., PTI accused the authorities of openly defying judicial directives. The party said that Imran Khan’s sisters were peacefully seated outside the jail gates when law enforcement used icy water to forcibly disperse them.
PTI described the action as a gross violation of Imran Khan’s prisoner rights and an attack on citizens’ constitutional right to peaceful assembly, especially cruel given the extreme cold.
The party also shared videos showing women and supporters scrambling to escape the water cannons in freezing conditions. The footage quickly spread online, drawing sharp criticism from human rights activists and political observers both inside and outside Pakistan.
According to a report by Dawn, Imran Khan’s eldest sister Alima Khan led the sit-in after being repeatedly denied permission to meet her brother. She said the family had no choice but to protest after jail authorities deliberately blocked the meeting.
Senior PTI leaders, including Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Junaid Akbar Khan, were also present at the protest. Police reportedly asked the sisters to leave the area twice, but they refused to move without being allowed to meet Imran Khan. A heavy police contingent was later deployed.
The incident follows earlier claims by another sister, Uzma Khan, who was allowed to meet Imran Khan last week. After the meeting, she stated that while Imran Khan appeared physically stable, he was facing “mental torture” inside the prison.
PTI has urged international human rights organizations and democratic governments to take notice of what it called Pakistan’s growing authoritarianism. The party warned that the treatment of Imran Khan’s family reflects a broader collapse of the rule of law and respect for court orders in the country.
The events outside Adiala Jail have reignited serious questions about Pakistan’s commitment to justice, human rights, and constitutional governance—raising concerns that power and force are now overriding legal authority.
