In the scorching heat outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, three elderly sisters stood their ground once more this week, their voices raw with exhaustion and defiance. As Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan marked a grim milestone—1,000 days behind bars—his sisters Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan Niazi, and Uzma Khan made yet another public appeal to see their brother.
Turned away at the checkpoint yet again, Aleema Khan stared straight into the cameras and declared the denial “nothing but contempt of court,” insisting they had come, as ordered by the Islamabad High Court, for the twice-weekly family visits the state refuses to honor.
Imran Khan was sent to Adiala Jail in August 2023. On April 30, 2026, he crossed the threshold of 1,000 days in custody—an extraordinary stretch of political imprisonment that his party calls outright victimization.
Beautiful gesture Aleema Khan Distributed water bottle and towels to Punjab police. pic.twitter.com/Z8aT9gXEjy
— Sardar Anas (@sardaranas888) May 12, 2026
Yet what stings the family most is not the length of the sentence alone, but the invisible wall erected between a man and the three women who raised him, worried for him, and still fight for him.
For over three months now, authorities have not allowed Imran Khan’s sisters a single meeting. The last fleeting visit, granted to one sister for just 20 minutes, came in early December 2025. Since then reports about his failing eyesight and deepening isolation.
Pakistan Today newspaper reported the obstacles are deliberate, inventive, and relentless. Every Tuesday and Thursday—the court-mandated visiting days—the sisters arrive at the jail’s outer gate.
If 🇵🇰 Imran Khan stands behind Sohail Afridi, then we sisters stand with Sohail Afridi.
🚨 We had a great conversation with Sohail Afridi today and we got a lot of encouragement.
– Aleema Khan pic.twitter.com/vum5K9bfsn
— Asad Nasir (@asadnasir2000) May 12, 2026
Police stop them at the Factory Naka or Shahigan Naka checkpoint before they can even reach the prison entrance.
Officers cite vague “security” concerns or simply refuse passage. Once turned back, jail officials dutifully report to the court that “the family did not show up,” neatly flipping the script of responsibility.
Aleema Khan has laid it out plainly: “Usually, police do not allow us to proceed onward and the jail administration informs the court that we did not arrive because of which the meeting could not be arranged.
Court orders from March 2025 are treated as suggestions, not law, Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaaf party says.
Contempt petitions filed by Aleema Khan gather dust. Even when the sisters stage peaceful sit-ins—elderly women on the pavement, joined sometimes by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister—authorities respond with Section 144 restrictions, roadblocks, and, in at least one earlier protest, physical force that left a 71-year-old sister dragged by her hair across the street.
Very loud and clear msg from Aleema Khan about 300 Parliamentarians #ImranKhanUnjustlyJailed@TeamiPians https://t.co/PNcPyvBuxD
— 🖤⃝Huni🖤⃝PTI❤️ⁱᴾⁱᵃⁿ💕 (@TehmiHuni2015) May 12, 2026
The message is unmistakable: access is not a right; it is a privilege the state doles out or withholds at will, the PTI says.
According to Dawn newspaper, these are not abstract legal skirmishes. They are acts of emotional torture inflicted on an aging family. The sisters endure blistering heat, public humiliation, and the constant ache of uncertainty.
Imran Khan, they say, is kept in solitary confinement—psychological pressure disguised as “security.” He has reportedly lost 85 percent of his vision in one eye to a condition called CRVO, yet neither family nor personal doctors are permitted inside.
The sisters’ pleas for a hospital transfer find no listeners. “They are torturing him,” Aleema Khan has said in raw frustration.
“He has been kept in illegal isolation.
Some of Pakistan most prominent lawyers including Aitzaz Ahsan have condemned the government’s violation of court orders and say Khan’s case is a litmus test for Pakistan’s democracy.
Meanwhile, showing up week after week, Khan’s sisters refuse to be silenced and are becoming a symbol of resistance.
Kiran Asim is a writer who covers the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. Her reports and analyses look at the geostrategic issues and contemporary developments and their economic and political implications. She also writes about society and education.
