Pakistan’s Punjab government extends detention of Imran Khan’s sisters by 30 days

Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan have been detained at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail for over a month under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. File

The Punjab government in Pakistan has extended the detention of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's three sisters for another 30 days under a public safety law, an official said on Monday (October 26, 2026).

Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan have been detained at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail for over a month under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960.

While Ms. Aleema was detained on September 20, 2026, Ms. Uzma and Ms. Noreen were taken into custody the following day, amid a crackdown on efforts to mobilise support for the jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder.

An assistant advocate general of Punjab informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday that the government had extended the detention of Mr. Khan's three sisters for another 30 days, on the recommendation of the Lahore deputy commissioner.

The court subsequently disposed of a petition seeking the trio's release. The petition was filed by Ms. Aleema's son, Shahrez, challenging the detention of the sisters.

Rana Mudassar Umar, counsel for the petitioner, told the court last week that the three sisters remained in jail despite the expiry of the 30-day detention period on October 20, 2026.

Subsequently, Lahore High Court Justice Abher Gul Khan directed the Punjab home secretary and the Kot Lakhpat jail superintendent to appear at the next hearing and submit their replies.

The sisters were detained amid PTI's efforts to organise nationwide protests demanding Mr. Khan's release. The former Prime Minister, 74, has been in jail since August 2023 and faces multiple cases, which he and his party have described as politically motivated.

PTI leaders criticised the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, over the extension of the detention orders, questioning the need to hold the sisters when, they said, they were not wanted in any criminal case.

Former federal minister and PTI leader Moonis Elahi termed the detention illegal, alleging that the government was using preventive detention to target the party and its leadership.

"Preventive detention cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal law. Their detention is politically motivated and part of a wider crackdown on the party and its leadership," he said, calling for the sisters' immediate release.