Imran Khan’s sister was allowed to meet the jailed former prime minister on Tuesday after crowds of supporters gathered outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail amid speculation about his health and well-being.
The 73-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder has been incarcerated since August 2023 in multiple cases, and an unannounced ban on family visits had remained in place for more than a month.
The prolonged denial of access fuelled social media rumours about whether Khan was alive or dead, though jail authorities insisted he was in “good health”.
The PTI said in a Thursday statement that one of Khan’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan, had been permitted to meet him. “Although today the government allowed Dr Uzma to see her brother in jail, but let’s see whether the government honours its commitment,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government deployed the entire Rawalpindi police force along Adiala Road to prevent PTI supporters from gathering in protest.
The government has already imposed Section 144 (ban on gathering of four or more people) in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The station house officers of eight police stations in Rawalpindi along with senior officers are present outside Adiala Jail.
"An eight-kilometre stretch has been completely sealed. Schools and colleges are closed. Residents are being required to show their ID card to pass through the area," an official of Punjab government told PTI.
A group of lawyers also held a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court against the government for keeping Imran Khan in isolation.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said compliance with Section 144 would be ensured in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at any cost.
“Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” the minister said.
Earlier, Imran Khan's son Kasim Khan demanded the government present proof that he (Khan) is alive.
"We demand proof of (Imran Khan)'s life," Khan's son Kasim Khanhad said in a post on X.
Khan's party has warned the authorities of countrywide protests if the government does not allow his sisters to see him.
His sisters have also warned that if anything happens to Khan, those involved and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad. PTI MZ GSP GSP
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