RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Police have registered a formal case under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and several provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code against approximately 400 individuals, including the sisters of former prime minister Imran Khan and senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The charges stem from a sit-in held outside the Adiala jail, which authorities claim escalated into violence and public disruption. To date, 14 suspects have been apprehended from the scene. The first information report (FIR) was lodged at the Saddar Baironi Police Station on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Muhammad Imran Khan, In-charge of the Adiala Police Check-post. The document names 35 key figures, including Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi (sisters of Imran Khan), Salman Akram Raja, Aliya Hamza, MWM leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Naeem Panjotha, Shaukat Basra and Nadia Khattak.
The FIR also cites the involvement of several Insaf Student Federation (ISF) office-bearers and roughly 350 to 400 unidentified protesters. According to police accounts, the protesters gathered following a call to action by Aliya Hamza. The FIR alleges that the crowd chanted “baseless slogans” against the government and state institutions, leading to a prolonged road blockade. They stated that despite “highly professional and polite requests” to disperse—citing risks to local residents, patients and the proximity of a petrol pump—the demonstrators refused to vacate the area. The police noted that Section 144, which prohibits public gatherings, had been in effect across Rawalpindi district since December 11.
The situation reportedly turned violent when protesters allegedly assaulted law enforcement personnel, obstructing official duties and tearing officers’ uniforms. They also resorted to vandalism by reportedly attacking a police mobile van with sticks and stones and engaging in wall-chalking on a factory. The FIR claims that members of the ISF prepared and hurled petrol bombs at police units with the “intent to kill,” causing fires on the road and triggering widespread panic.
Following a strategic cordon-and-search operation, police managed to arrest 14 individuals, while an estimated 150 to 200 others fled during the ensuing commotion. The accused face charges under Sections 7 and 21(i) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, alongside various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code related to rioting, interference with state property, and attempted harm to public officials.
Meanwhile, PTI strongly condemned the Punjab Police for “exceeding all bounds of brutality” by using “chemical-laced” water cannons on the party founder’s sisters, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, party leaders and workers during their peaceful sit-in outside the Adiala jail on Tuesday night.
In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department, the party also condemned the detention of sit-in participants and registration of an anti-terrorism case against them. The party lashed out at the government for employing brutal force against peaceful protesters, subjecting women, senior citizens and non-violent participants to “chemical-laced” water cannons, violence and unlawful arrests.
Calling it the worst manifestation of political victimisation, the PTI denounced the “blatant misuse” of the Anti-Terrorism Act against peaceful sit-in participants outside the Adiala jail. A case has been filed against Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan, Azma Khan, and Noreen Niazi, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, PTI Punjab Organiser Aliya Hamza and 35 others—bringing the total number of accused to 400 under Section 120 for criminal conspiracy against the state. The party charged that these actions reflect a “fearful government’s panic and moral bankruptcy.” It condemned the misuse of law to target citizens and peaceful political activists, calling it an attack on democracy, justice and fundamental human rights. The party also criticised the regime for “deliberately, systematically and repeatedly” obstructing the legally mandated bi-weekly meetings of PTI founder Imran Khan with his family, lawyers and friends, effectively reducing the court’s clear orders to “mere scraps of paper.”
The PTI asserted that the regime is blatantly violating the clear, written and unequivocal orders of the Islamabad High Court, setting a dangerous precedent. These actions, it said, constitute a direct assault on the Constitution, rule of law and authority of the judiciary. It explained that as per the court’s explicit directives, Tuesdays are reserved for meetings between Imran Khan and his family and lawyers. Despite full compliance with the law and submission of the official list, his sisters and legal counsel were once again obstructed at Adiala jail, proving that the rulers “respect neither the courts, nor the law, nor basic human values.”
The statement noted that the PTI founder has remained in arbitrary detention for the past 865 days in a so-called “death cell” under deplorable conditions, facing fabricated and politically motivated cases, prolonged illegal isolation and mental torture in dire jail conditions. His wife, Bushra Bibi, has also endured unlawful detention for nearly 600 days. The PTI condemned the “inhumane treatment” meted out to the nation’s leader, stating that he is subjected to conditions harsher than those imposed on terrorists and convicted murderers. This includes being supplied contaminated water for ablution, confined to a six-by-eight cell for up to 22 hours a day, and denied communication with his sons for nearly a year.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s sons have claimed that their father is imprisoned in Adiala jail’s death cell, where he is facing “awful” conditions. “The [jail] conditions are awful,” said Kasim while speaking during an interview alongside his brother Sulaiman with Sky News.
“It’s been described as a death cell. The cell that he’s in is because [...] I think inmates who have been put on death row have been put in these small cells with barely any light,” added Sulaiman. He further claimed that the electricity to Imran’s cell is also cut off sometimes, along with the provision of dirty water and that his father was being subjected to “substandard conditions that don’t meet international law for any prisoner”.
During the interview, the Sky News’ journalist asked about their reaction on rumours circulating regarding the PTI founder’s death, which Sulaiman termed “incredibly stressful”. “I went straight on to my family group chat because that’s the only contact reliable source that we have on the ground in Pakistan,” he added.
Expanding on his brother’s comments, Kasim said that it was “obviously very jarring and obviously pulls you out of whatever you’re trying to do in your normal life [...] especially how helpless we are over here, not able to do much at all”. Sulaiman further added that during this time, their aunt, Uzma, reassured them that their father was well and seemed healthy, “but was furious about the conditions he’d been kept in”.
Furthermore, when asked about the possibility of visiting Pakistan to meet their father, Kasim said that he and his brother were in fact planning to visit the country “unless they [government] go against their word again” — of allowing them to visit. “We should be hopefully going in January. We’ve applied for our visas but they haven’t come through yet. We’re expecting it to come through,” Kasim added.
This is not the first time that Kasim and Sulaiman’s purported visit to Pakistan has been in the news, as back in July Aleema said that the brothers intended to join the party’s protest movement back then. At the time, Minister of State for Interior Talal had assured that Imran’s sons will be issued visas or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) if they require them. He said that if the tracking number of their visa application is shared with him, he will personally ensure that any issue is resolved.
Responding to a question what they would say to Imran upon meeting him and whether would ask him to cut a deal to secure freedom, Kasim said: “What you have to understand is it’s his life. And so if he just took a deal and came over to us and lived in England, I know there would be this burning desire and this aching that he has left his country for dead.”
“As much as we’d love to have our father watching cricket or football matches over here, he has a purpose which is far greater. So, you can only respect it. What else would you say to him?” remarked Kasim.
To a question concerning what they wanted from the international community and US President Donald Trump in light of the relationship between Islamabad and Washington, Sulaiman said: “I think at minimum just to make sure that...the standards of international human rights are being upheld and right now they’re clearly being violated.
“Essentially, we just want to ensure that basic human rights for our father are being respected,” he added, while Kasim stressed on the implementation of court orders, respect for the rule of law and allowing Imran to see his personal physician. Sulaiman further said that they wanted “independent monitoring” of their father’s condition as they had no idea what it’s like until someone visits and speaks to him.
When asked about whether they see a way out for their father, Kasim said that the conditions were getting worse. “It’s very hard to see a way out, and a lot of the people we speak to, the advisers are seeming less and less confident every time we speak to them,” he lamented.
Sulaiman further noted that the international pressure was an effective way of forcing change in these situations and said that they were looking to do more advocacy in Brussels and or Geneva in January to speak to politicians and officials about their father’s situation.
It is pertinent to know that both Sulaiman and Kasim have been advocating for their father’s release and even met US President Trump’s aide Richard Grenell back in July, drawing attention to the ex-PM’s imprisonment.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that according to official figures, Imran Khan has had 870 visits in prison so far, so how could it be a solitary confinement.
