Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, sisters of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, were released from Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore on Thursday following the withdrawal of their extended detention orders, PTI legal counsel Rana Mudassar Umer told Dawn. In a post on X, Umer said the two had returned home 'safely'. Reuters, reporting from Islamabad the same morning, also said the two sisters of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister had been released from prison, citing local media reports.
Source: Dawn, via newblog.space
PTI lawyer Taimur Malik also said on X that the two women had been released upon the withdrawal of the 'unlawful MPO detention order'. 'Everyone else detained under these MPO orders should be released as well,' he said. Abb Takk reported that the sisters were released after nearly two months in detention and that, according to its sources, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar played a key role in securing their release through concerted efforts. That role is Abb Takk's sourcing, not a statement by Gohar or the Punjab government, and no Punjab government statement on the withdrawal was carried in the reports.
Source: Abb Takk News
How the detention ran: 30 days, an extension, and a court challenge
Imran Khan's three sisters — Noreen, Aleema and Uzma — were held in jail on the Lahore deputy commissioner's orders as the PTI geared up for a protest march towards Islamabad. Their detention was initially ordered for 30 days. After that period lapsed last month, the detention was challenged in the Lahore High Court, following which the Punjab government informed the court that it had been extended for another 30 days, Dawn reported. Thursday's release came after that extended order was withdrawn.
Source: Dawn, via newblog.space
Aleema still remains in jail
Aleema Khan, who was the first of the three sisters to be detained, still remains in jail, Dawn reported. Abb Takk likewise reported that Aleema was arrested on September 20 and that no information about her release was immediately available. Imran Khan himself remains incarcerated, and the PTI's protest campaign has centred on demanding his release.
Source: Dawn, via newblog.space
The October hospital transfer that became a row of its own
On October 28, Noreen was moved from Kot Lakhpat jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) due to high blood pressure. At the time, her lawyer claimed that no family member had been informed about her deteriorating health, and the PTI condemned the transfer without informing her family, expressing grave concern over her health and the treatment of 'political prisoners'. The government insisted she was 'fine' after being provided medical treatment; the adviser to the prime minister on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, told the Senate on October 29 that, as per the information available, all her medical tests were normal, Dawn reported.
Source: Dawn, via newblog.space
What is solid
- Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were released from Kot Lakhpat jail on Thursday, Nov 12, after their extended detention orders were withdrawn — PTI legal counsel Rana Mudassar Umer to Dawn; Reuters confirmed the release the same morning
- The sisters were detained in September under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance on the Lahore deputy commissioner's orders, initially for 30 days, then extended by another 30 days after a Lahore High Court challenge
- Aleema Khan, detained a day before her sisters, still remains in jail — Dawn
- On Oct 28 Noreen was transferred to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology for high blood pressure; the PTI said her family was not informed, while the government said her tests were normal
What is only claimed
- Why the orders were withdrawn now — no Punjab government statement was reported; PTI lawyers call the orders 'unlawful', and Abb Takk's sources credit PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar's efforts, neither of which the government has confirmed
- Whether everyone else held under the same MPO orders will also be released — PTI lawyer Taimur Malik says they should be; no official announcement has been reported
What happens next
The immediate question the release leaves open is Aleema Khan's: she was detained first, and as of Thursday's reports she remains inside, with no information about her release immediately available. The PTI's own lawyers are publicly pressing the wider point — that everyone detained under these MPO orders should be released — but the withdrawal reported on Thursday covers Uzma and Noreen's extended orders, and no authority has announced a general release or explained the timing.