LAHORE: Sisters of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan, were released from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail on Thursday, sources said.
The two had been detained for weeks under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960, amid legal challenges to their detention and concerns over their health.
Noreen and Uzma were taken into custody on September 21, 2026, a day after their sister Aleema Khan was arrested. Their detention came ahead of planned PTI protests demanding Imran Khan’s release.
A PTI spokesperson confirmed that Aleema Khan had not been released alongside her sisters, adding that the party had no information about when she would be freed.
Authorities had initially ordered Noreen and Uzma’s detention for 30 days under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, which empowers the government to order preventive detention on grounds of public order.
Their detention was challenged before the Lahore High Court (LHC), with their lawyers arguing that the orders were unjustified and violated their constitutional rights.
On October 26, the Punjab government informed the court that detention orders for all three sisters had been extended for another 30 days on the recommendation of the Lahore deputy commissioner.
The court disposed of an earlier petition after reviewing the government’s report, while separate legal challenges against the detentions continued.
The arrests came amid protests and a long march led by PTI leader Sohail Afridi, who was then the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister. The protests were followed by the imposition of emergency measures and governor’s rule in the PTI-governed province in October. The federal government cited the deteriorating security situation in the province as the reason for the measures.
In another political development, PTI lawyers were allowed to meet Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Wednesday, a day before his sisters’ release.
Lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa said he and fellow counsel Salman Safdar held a meeting lasting nearly four hours with the couple, during which they discussed the reported 28th Constitutional Amendment. He did not disclose further details of the conversation.
There has been no official confirmation that the government is preparing a 28th Constitutional Amendment. However, possible constitutional changes, including proposals that could pave the way for new provinces or administrative units, have featured in discussions among major political parties.
The meeting followed an Islamabad High Court order issued on Tuesday during the hearing of appeals filed by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi against their convictions in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. Their lawyers had told the court they were being denied access to their clients and needed to meet them to prepare for the appeals.
