Two sisters of imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan have been released from prison after authorities withdrew their extended detention orders. Dr. Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi left Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore and returned home, according to party lawyers and family members.
Their third sister, Aleema Khan, remains in custody.
Withdrawal of Detention Orders
PTI legal counsel Rana Mudassar Umer told Dawn that the extended detention orders for Uzma and Noreen had been withdrawn. In a post on X, he confirmed the two women “returned home safely.”
PTI lawyer Taimur Malik also posted on X that the pair were released after the “unlawful MPO detention order” was withdrawn. He added: “Everyone else detained under these MPO orders should be released as well.”
Noreen’s son, Wali, posted on X that his mother and aunt had been freed. He stated they had been held for 53 days under Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO). “No charge. No trial,” he wrote. He noted that two weeks earlier Noreen, who is in her seventies, was taken to a cardiac hospital without the family’s knowledge. “Today they were let out. No reason given,” Wali said. He called on a judge to “explain both decisions,” adding that “neither decision rested on law. Their jailing was arbitrary and so is their release.”
Background of the Detentions
Imran Khan’s three sisters—Noreen, Aleema, and Uzma—were detained in September under the MPO on orders from the Lahore deputy commissioner. The move came as PTI prepared for a protest march toward Islamabad.
The initial detention order lasted 30 days. After that period ended last month, the sisters’ lawyers challenged the continued custody in the Lahore High Court. The Punjab government then informed the court that the detentions had been extended for another 30 days. Aleema Khan, the first of the three to be detained, remains in jail.
Health Concerns and Official Response
On October 28, Noreen was transferred from Kot Lakhpat jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology because of high blood pressure. Her lawyer said no family member was informed of her deteriorating condition at the time. PTI condemned the transfer without notification and expressed concern over the treatment of what the party called “political prisoners.”
The government maintained that she was stable. On October 29, Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political affairs, told the Senate that Noreen was “fine” after receiving medical treatment and that “all her medical tests are normal.”
Government Rules Out Leniency or Deal With PTI
The releases came amid heightened speculation about possible backchannel contacts between the government and PTI over Imran Khan’s legal cases. On Thursday, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry firmly rejected any such possibility.
Speaking on a private news channel a day after PTI lawyers Sardar Latif Khosa and Barrister Salman Safdar met Imran Khan at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi—following an Islamabad High Court order and the sisters’ release after roughly 50 days under the MPO—Chaudhry said: “I strongly reject the notion that there are any back-channel contacts with the PTI that could affect the legal matters currently pending before the courts, or that there is any possibility of leniency, a deal or any concession from the government.”
“There is no room for any such arrangement,” he added.
Chaudhry urged the party to keep “political and legal matters” separate from Imran Khan’s health, accusing PTI lawyers of politicising the issue. “The assumptions and speculation that some kind of change is taking place are baseless. Most of these assumptions are based on wishes and desires,” he said. He further warned that the lawyers’ statements and media reports based on sources could ultimately harm the PTI rather than benefit it.
The releases of Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi mark a partial change in the status of the three sisters, who have been held without formal charges under preventive detention powers. Aleema Khan’s continued detention leaves the family’s legal situation unresolved, while the government has publicly closed the door on any negotiated concessions regarding Imran Khan’s cases.
Asim Tanveer is a seasoned journalist working for TV and electronic and print media outlets. He has been working for some of the world’s leading news organizations including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, BBC, CNN, CNBC, Star TV, Voice of America and The New York Times for more than 20 years. He has won several awards for his live coverage of events that include a Reuters News Agency World Award and the Pride of Performance award in 2010.
