Imran Khan’s sister, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was detained

According to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the sister of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, has been detained in advance of the demonstrations that will take place in his honor next week.

Aleema Khanum was placed under “illegal arrest” on Sunday afternoon in the eastern city of Lahore, according to PTI officials. Her son is calling for her to come back. Khanum was accused of organizing Imran Khan’s supporters “via social media and public meetings” in the deputy commissioner of Lahore’s order for her arrest. She will be held for thirty days, it further stated. Khanum frequently addresses his fans and the media as a strong opponent of her brother’s incarceration.

Earlier in the day, her family said they had had “no contact or news of her whereabouts”. “We demand the government immediately disclose her whereabouts and ensure her safe return,” Khanum’s son Shahrez Khan wrote on X.

Many have connected her detention to the nationwide rallies scheduled for September 27, when protesters are expected to march to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. According to the arrest order, Khanum was inciting individuals to “cause law and order crises” and “raising/chanting undesirable slogans amongst the general public against the Government.”

Shipping containers are already lining Islamabad’s streets, ready to protect the city’s government buildings. According to local media, Pakistan’s interior minister has stated that the government will take all necessary steps to put an end to the protests because they are detrimental to the nation.

Khan has been in custody since 2023, when he was given a three-year prison sentence for failing to disclose proceeds from the sale of goods he had acquired while serving in government.

He has been accused of selling state goods and leaking state secrets in more than 100 cases, all of which he has denounced as politically motivated. In a land corruption case last year, the former cricket player turned politician was sentenced to 14 years in prison, the harshest term he has ever gotten. Khan’s health has been declining while he is incarcerated, and last month he needed to go to the hospital for a checkup.