ISLAMABAD — Pakistan police have arrested the sister of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan in the eastern city of Lahore, allegedly for mobilizing the public to take part in planned protests in his support next week, party officials said.Officials of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party condemned Aleema Khanum’s arrest Sunday afternoon, calling it “illegal detention”. Her son is demanding her release.The order for Khanum’s arrest, which came from Lahore’s deputy commissioner, alleged that she was mobilizing Imran Khan’s supporters “through social media and public meetings”. It added that she would be detained for 30 days.”According to intelligence reports, her presence at any public place will pose a grave threat to public safety,” the order said.Khanum is a vocal critic of her brother’s detention and regularly speaks to his supporters and the media.A police official confirmed Khanum’s arrest. According to the order, she will be taken to Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.Earlier in the day, her family said they had had “no contact or news of her whereabouts”.”We demand the government immediately disclose her whereabouts and ensure her safe return,” Khanum’s son Shahrez Khan wrote on X.Many have linked her arrest to the protests that have been organized across the country on September 27, when demonstrators plan to march to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.The arrest order said Khanum had been mobilizing people to “create law and order situations” and “raising/chanting objectionable slogans amongst the general public against the government.”Streets in Islamabad are already lined with shipping containers, ready to safeguard the city’s government buildings.Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that the protests harm the country and the government will do everything it can to stop them, local media reported.A close aide to Khan, Zulfi Bukhari, described the arrest of Khan’s sister as “absolutely despicable”.”The fear of the 27th protest is clearly taking its toll,” Bukhari added.Khan has been detained since 2023, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for not declaring money earned from selling gifts he had received while in office.He has faced charges in over 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts – all of which he has decried as politically motivated.Last year, the cricket star-turned-politician was jailed for 14 years in a land corruption case — the longest sentence he has received.While in prison, his health has been deteriorating, and last month Khan had to visit a hospital for an examination.
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