RAWALPINDI (MNN); Police have registered cases against around 400 people, including PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi, following the dispersal of a sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Wednesday, where the former prime minister is currently imprisoned.
In a related development, 14 PTI workers arrested during the operation were produced before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday. The court approved three days of physical remand and handed the suspects back to police custody for further investigation.
The protest was staged at Factory Naka a day earlier by Imran Khan’s sisters, party leaders, workers and supporters, who were demanding a court-ordered meeting with the PTI founder scheduled for Tuesday. Police launched an operation around 2am, using water cannons and baton charges to break up the sit-in.
According to the first information report (FIR) dated December 17, cases have been registered against 400 suspects, including 35 nominated individuals, under multiple provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The FIR alleges violations including the use of petrol bombs and defiance of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bans public gatherings.
Those named in the FIR include Imran Khan’s sisters, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, PTI leader Aliya Hamza and party lawyer Naeem Panjhuta, among others. The charges include terrorism, aiding and abetting, criminal conspiracy, rioting, obstructing public officials, violation of official orders, negligent handling of combustible and explosive materials, attempted murder, wrongful restraint, assault on public servants and mischief causing harm.
Reacting strongly, the PTI condemned the registration of cases and accused the Punjab Police of using “chemical-laced” water cannons against protesters. In a statement issued by the party’s Central Media Department, PTI criticised the government for employing force against peaceful demonstrators, including women, elderly citizens and non-violent participants.
The party termed the arrests a clear case of political victimisation and rejected the application of anti-terrorism laws against sit-in participants. It said such actions reflected panic and moral failure on the part of the government and amounted to an assault on democracy, justice and fundamental rights.
PTI further accused authorities of deliberately blocking the legally mandated bi-weekly meetings between Imran Khan and his family, lawyers and friends, calling it a violation of Islamabad High Court orders and a direct attack on the Constitution, rule of law and judicial authority.
Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 at Adiala Jail in connection with the £190 million corruption case and is also facing pending trials under the ATA related to the May 9, 2023 protests. The party has repeatedly raised concerns over his health, although his sister Uzma Khan stated earlier this month that he was in good health after meeting him.
