'They dragged us, ripped our chaddors': Imran Khan’s sisters detained outside Adiala Jail after overnight sit-in

Tensions flared outside Pakistan’s Adiala Jail late Tuesday night after police allegedly dragged and detained former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sisters during a protest demanding access to their brother. The women were staging a sit-in that lasted nearly ten hours after being denied a scheduled meeting with the jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader.

Imran Khan has been imprisoned for more than two years in cases linked to the alleged sale of state gifts and other corruption charges. His family has repeatedly claimed that the former premier is being held in solitary confinement under “inhumane conditions,” and that his health and safety remain at risk.

According to local media reports, Khan’s sisters -- Aleema, Uzma, and Noreen Khan -- arrived at Adiala Jail on Tuesday morning for their weekly visit but were told they would not be allowed to meet him. After hours of waiting, they began a peaceful sit-in outside the prison gates, drawing attention from reporters and PTI supporters.

As night fell, tensions escalated. Police moved in to disperse the gathering, leading to a scuffle that ended with the women being forcibly taken away. Video clips circulating online show chaotic scenes of police officers surrounding the area as the sisters shouted for help.

“She held my arm, dragged me by my legs. It is tragic that they can stoop to this level. Punjab police is behaving like savages,” Noreen Khan told reporters after being released from custody, visibly shaken by the incident.

Her sister Aleema Khan alleged that the officers had used excessive force. “The way the women dragged us, ripped away our chaddors… they should be ashamed,” she said, adding that at one point, Noreen was “practically unconscious” as she was pulled across the road.

The PTI has condemned the incident, calling it an act of “state brutality.” Aleema Khan directly accused Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, of ordering the crackdown.

“The lights were switched off, and in the ensuing chaos, police physically assaulted Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan and Uzma Khan,” the PTI said in a statement. The party also claimed that the area outside the jail was “intentionally flooded with water” to disperse the protesters and that several other women supporters were beaten and detained.

Party officials said the treatment of Khan’s sisters reflected the worsening human rights conditions under Pakistan’s current administration. “They are trying to break us psychologically by attacking the family,” one senior PTI member said.

This is not the first time Imran Khan’s family has accused the army chief of targeting them. In September, the former prime minister, speaking from prison, said, “Our country is currently under ‘Asim Law’. Munir has buried all morality, running things under the ‘Dacoits and Duffers’ alliance.”

The late-night confrontation outside Adiala Jail has once again drawn international attention to Pakistan’s deepening political crisis. With Khan’s sisters describing the episode as “humiliating and violent,” the opposition is now demanding accountability for what it calls a new low in the state’s treatment of political prisoners and their families.