Pakistan’s Punjab government extends detention of Imran Khan’s sisters by 30 days

Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan were detained during a crackdown on efforts to mobilise support for Imran Khan and PTI. The government initially ordered 30-day detentions under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. Their continued confinement has become a legal and political issue because the sisters were not described as facing ordinary criminal charges.

Aleema was detained on September 20, 2026. Uzma and Noreen were taken into custody on September 21. Their original 30-day period expired on October 20, but they remained in jail. At a Lahore High Court hearing on October 26, a Punjab assistant advocate general confirmed that the government had approved another 30 days on the Lahore deputy commissioner’s recommendation.

The extension means the sisters can remain detained through another month unless a court or the government changes the orders. The High Court disposed of the release petition after being informed of the extension. PTI leaders condemned the decision, while the government’s stated mechanism was preventive detention under the public safety ordinance.

Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan are the three sisters of Imran Khan, the jailed founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI. The article does not identify them as government officials or as people charged with a specific criminal offence. Their importance in this story comes mainly from their family connection and their presence in a political dispute surrounding Khan.

They were detained in Lahore amid PTI efforts to organise nationwide protests demanding Khan’s release. Aleema was taken into custody on September 20, 2026, while Noreen and Uzma were detained the next day. Aleema’s son, Shahrez, later filed the petition challenging their detention, bringing the dispute before the Lahore High Court.

Their case reflects the wider conflict described in the article. Khan has been jailed since August 2023 and faces multiple cases that he and PTI call politically motivated. PTI leaders say the sisters were not wanted in any criminal case, while the government extended their preventive detention under a public safety law.

Preventive detention is a legal power that allows authorities to hold a person because they believe the person may threaten public order or safety. It is intended to prevent a possible future harm. It is not, by itself, a finding that the person committed a crime. The article identifies the sisters’ detention as preventive and says it was ordered under Punjab’s public safety law.

An ordinary criminal arrest usually follows an alleged offence. The accused is informed of the case, brought before a court, and may face investigation, prosecution and trial. A trial tests evidence and can end in conviction or acquittal. Preventive detention instead focuses on anticipated conduct, and detention may occur without a completed criminal trial for the alleged risk.

That distinction explains the criticism in this case. PTI leader Moonis Elahi said preventive detention should not replace ordinary criminal law. The sisters’ supporters questioned their detention because, they said, none was wanted in a criminal case. Court review and time limits are therefore especially important safeguards.

The Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, is the legal instrument named in the article for the sisters’ detention. In this case, it functioned as a public-safety mechanism allowing the provincial government to continue holding them through preventive detention. The article does not list every power or procedure contained in the ordinance, so its exact statutory scope cannot be established from the report alone.

The government invoked it amid PTI efforts to mobilise support for Imran Khan and organise nationwide protests. Aleema Khan was detained on September 20, 2026, and Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan followed on September 21. When the initial 30-day period ended, the Lahore deputy commissioner recommended extending the orders for another 30 days.

A Punjab assistant advocate general informed the Lahore High Court of that extension on October 26. The court then disposed of a petition seeking release. PTI leaders objected that the sisters were not wanted in criminal cases, while the extension showed the government continuing to rely on preventive detention during a period of political tension.

The case involves three detainees: Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr. Uzma Khan. Aleema was detained on September 20, 2026, and Noreen and Uzma were detained on September 21. All three were held at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960.

Their original detention period was 30 days. According to the article, that period expired on October 20, 2026. However, the sisters remained in jail after the expiry date. Their continued detention prompted Aleema’s son, Shahrez, to file a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking their release.

At the next stage, the Punjab government extended each detention order for another 30 days. A Punjab assistant advocate general informed the High Court on October 26, following a recommendation from the Lahore deputy commissioner. The court subsequently disposed of the release petition. Before that update, Justice Abher Gul Khan had ordered senior officials to appear and submit replies.

The extension may affect PTI’s mobilisation by keeping Imran Khan’s three sisters in jail during an effort to organise nationwide protests. Their detention limits their ability to appear publicly, coordinate supporters or speak directly about Khan’s release. The article does not measure any resulting change in protest size or activity, so the practical impact remains uncertain.

The mechanism is straightforward. The government used preventive detention under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, and extended the orders after the initial 30 days expired. The Lahore deputy commissioner recommended the extension, and a Punjab assistant advocate general notified the Lahore High Court. This keeps the sisters detained without the article describing ordinary criminal charges against them.

Politically, the decision has intensified the dispute between PTI and the Punjab government led by Maryam Nawaz. PTI leaders call the detention illegal and politically motivated. The extension could therefore sustain pressure on the government, increase court scrutiny and deepen the confrontation over Khan’s imprisonment and PTI’s protest strategy.

Preventive detention is generally expected to have legal limits because it can confine someone without a completed criminal trial. Common safeguards include a clear statutory basis, written reasons, a defined time limit, access to legal representation and prompt review by an independent court. Authorities should also periodically reassess whether the claimed public-safety risk still exists.

The article shows several checks operating in this case. The detention was made under a named ordinance and initially lasted 30 days. Shahrez challenged the orders in the Lahore High Court. Justice Abher Gul Khan directed the Punjab home secretary and Kot Lakhpat jail superintendent to appear and submit replies. The government then informed the court that the orders had been extended.

These safeguards do not automatically decide whether the detention is lawful. They create a process for testing the government’s justification. PTI leaders argue that detention cannot replace ordinary criminal law and that the sisters were not wanted in criminal cases. The court’s review and any further challenge remain important to that dispute.