Water cannons interrupt Aleema Khan’s sit-in at Adiala prison

Police used a water cannon early Wednesday to disperse a sit-in led by Aleema Khan outside Adiala Prison after authorities denied permission to meet jailed former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.

Aleema Khan, along with her sisters Noreen Khan and Dr Uzma Khan, had started the protest on Tuesday around 2 p.m., joined by party workers and former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. The sit-in continued for nearly 12 hours until police launched an operation around 2:10 a.m., deploying a high-pressure cold water jet to clear the road.

Police confirmed that several PTI workers were arrested during the operation. The force of the water moved protesters from the main road to an adjacent empty lot, while traffic lanes around the prison were reopened after the area was cleared.

PTI MP Shahid Khattak suffered a broken leg after slipping into a drain during the agitation. He was taken to hospital, where doctors applied a bandage and advised him to stay in bed for a month.

Read: Negotiations underway as PTI sit-in continues outside Adiala jail

Aleema Khan said the group would return next Tuesday to continue their protest. Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan criticized the police action, saying the use of high pressure and cold water before dawn endangered the safety of everyone, especially women and elderly participants.

The protesters continued to chant slogans throughout the operation, demanding permission to meet the former PTI chief. Authorities have not said whether such access would be granted.

The standoff took place against a wider backdrop of increasingly restricted access to PTI founder Imran Khan, who has remained in Adiala jail since his conviction in several cases. Although Tuesdays are officially reserved for family and legal meetings, PTI leaders say access has been irregular for weeks, with prison authorities citing “security concerns” and administrative instructions.

Tensions escalated when Imran’s sisters were informed shortly before the end of visiting hours that no meeting would take place. Officials, according to party members present, also refused to confirm whether a visit would be allowed later in the week, causing widespread frustration within the party.

The refusal sparked an immediate sit-in outside the prison, which quickly grew as senior PTI leaders, including the party president, general secretary and several MPs, arrived at the scene.

The chants continued late into the night as prison authorities placed the surrounding area under near-total lockdown. Roads remained closed for several kilometers, commercial activity was suspended and police quietly moved vehicles belonging to PTI workers, further escalating tensions.

Learn more: PTI says Imran ‘not a security threat’

Aleema Khan repeatedly stressed that the protest remained peaceful and said the party did not have any confrontations with the police.

However, she sharply criticized the continued ban on meetings, calling it psychological pressure on the former prime minister and questioning why the state is treating him as a “threat to national security.” She also rejected allegations of political discussions at previous meetings, saying family conversations had been twisted to justify new restrictions.

Late in the night, PTI leaders warned that a prolonged denial of access would only widen political fissures and deepen public unease, paving the way for the police operation that followed early in the morning.