Fresh setback for Imran Khan! PTI founder’s sister debarred from visiting jail, PTI leaders stage protest outside…., water canons…

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, once the greatest cricketer, has been in jail since 2023 in multiple cases. He has been subject to various legal and political challenges. Following his remarkable cricketing career, in which he gained fame nationally and internationally, he became involved in politics, founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and eventually became the top political leader in Pakistan.

What prompted PTI leaders to stage a protest outside Adiala Jail?

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s family has once again been prevented from meeting him in prison. In response, the PTI leaders and Imran Khan’s siblings protested outside of Adiala Jail. This demonstration took place on Tuesday evening, led by his sister Aleema Khan, and continued till morning. Media reports suggest that several police officers have also been deployed outside the jail. The sisters have been expressing serious concerns regarding Imran Khan’s health and security.

Why was Imran Khan’s sister barred from meeting him despite legal permissions?

According to PTI leaders and Aleema, they have been restricted from having any further meetings with Imran Khan. Despite the court ordering a meeting between them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it is alleged that the government is not allowing this meeting to take place. The family of Imran Khan has claimed that his treatment in prison is not adequate, and held Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government and the army chief responsible for the situation.

Why has this incident escalated tensions between PTI and the government?

According to a report from The Dawn, demonstrators outside Adiala Jail began their protest because jail officials refused to allow them to meet with Imran Khan, even though a court order existed permitting the meeting. Imran Khan’s sister Aleema claimed that the government was violating the law. She even stated that the PTI has done nothing illegal. The situation escalated further as senior PTI leaders, including Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial chief Junaid Akbar Khan, joined the sit-in.

“We have been coming here for the last 8 months. We come here and sit every Tuesday. We are not allowed to meet Imran Khan. They are torturing him. He has been kept in illegal isolation. They should end this torture against Imran Khan,” Aleema was quoted as saying by news agency ANI while speaking outside the jail.

Last week, the jail authorities permitted Uzma Khan, a sister of Imran Khan, to visit her brother in jail. After she met with Khan, she stated that he appeared perfectly fine. Aleema expressed concern about how he has been treated in prison and said that for the last 14 months, Imran has not been allowed to see his own doctor.

“If they do operate illegally and we do our work according to the law, and if they are right and we are wrong, then that shows just how our system works,” Aleema was quoted as saying by the Dawn. “What is the issue in allowing one doctor to meet Imran Khan?” she stated, as reported by Dawn. “When Nawaz Sharif went to jail, a doctor was with him all day, counting his platelets.

While waiting near a police blockade, Aleema made another video statement: “This is unconstitutional and illegal. Why are they keeping Imran Khan isolated and tortured?” she stated, Dawn reported. “These people are violating the Constitution and breaking the law. We will not move from here; they can beat us with sticks or shoot us,” she added.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party claimed on Wednesday morning that police utilized their water cannons to break up a protest at Adiala Jail involving PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters and other peaceful protesters. The incident took place after an earlier denied request to meet the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. “Pakistani authorities used water cannons to disperse Imran Khan’s sisters and peaceful PTI workers outside Adiala Jail, despite a court order allowing a meeting with the jailed former PM,” the party in the post stated.

Imran, 72, has been in jail since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases he says were politically driven following his ouster in a 2022 no-confidence vote. His first conviction was in the Toshakhana case and centred on accusations that he unlawfully sold gifts received in office.