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The Lahore High Court declined a plea on Thursday to immediately halt the detention orders passed against former Pakistani premier Imran Khans sisters, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, as reported by the leading Pakistani daily Dawn.
During Thursday's proceedings, legal counsel representing Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi argued before the bench that both women are "non-political" and faced incarceration without any legal rationale. The advocates emphasised that Uzma Khan had already secured an acquittal in a previous case registered against her, prompting them to urge the court to immediately suspend the ongoing detention directives, according to Dawn. In response, the presiding judge stated that the judiciary would await an official report from the concerned authorities before issuing a ruling on the suspension application, while also issuing formal notices to the respondents for their replies. The petition lists the Lahore Deputy Commissioner, the Capital City Police Officer, the Home Department Secretary, and the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat jail as respondents, as noted by Dawn. Legal action was initiated following police detentions of Imran Khans three sisters, Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi, and Uzma Khan, executed under a 30-day detention directive issued by the Lahore Deputy Commissioner pursuant to Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. These detention measures were enacted ahead of a scheduled September 27 demonstration organised by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to lobby for the liberation of the party's founder, who has remained incarcerated since August 2023 following judicial convictions that the PTI maintains are politically driven. Since his removal from power via a 2022 no-confidence motion, Imran Khan has confronted multiple legal challenges, including charges concerning state gifts and an unlawful marriage dispute. In anticipation of the planned PTI demonstrations, the Punjab administration instituted a 13-day prohibition on public assemblies across the entire province, implementing closures for roadways and commercial establishments surrounding Attock and Rawalpindi while stationing paramilitary Rangers across four districts, as detailed by Pakistans The Express Tribune newspaper. Under the directives outlined in the Punjab government's notification, public gatherings, processions, and assemblies involving five or more individuals are strictly banned across public domains, thoroughfares, and open spaces throughout the province for a duration of 13 days, as reported by The Express Tribune. The publication further noted that the official advisory prohibits the possession and display of weaponry alongside any acts intended to provoke or incite citizens towards unauthorised assemblies in Punjab. Exemptions from the restriction cover wedding ceremonies, funeral prayers, burials, and congregations held inside mosques and designated places of worship. The official notification indicated that law enforcement and intelligence units had uncovered intelligence pointing to a severe security threat involving militant organisations preparing assaults targeting public gatherings. Earlier on Monday, Kasim Khan, the son of Imran Khan, issued a strong condemnation regarding the detention of his paternal aunts, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, characterising the actions as "criminal behaviour" while appealing for international intervention. In a statement published on the social media platform X, Kasim Khan expressed deep outrage, stating, This is a disgrace. Now my Aunts Dr. Uzma and Noreen, along with my cousins Shershah and Shahrez, have now been abducted as well. They have broken into my aunties' and cousins' houses and forced them into vehicles with no explanation. No reasons for arrest have been stated. He further added, No news has been released as to where they have been taken. This is criminal behaviour. Inexcusable. The Pakistani people are petrified of their own leaders. No upstanding nation should tolerate this criminal establishment. Intervention is now imperative. The world MUST take action. (ANI)
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