In letter to Maryam Nawaz, Afridi demands accountability and implementation of Imran’s visitation rights
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in a letter to his Punjab counterpart Maryam Nawaz, has raised concerns over the “harsh and inappropriate” treatment meted out to Imran Khan’s sisters during their recent attempt to visit him in Adiala jail.
Afridi reminded Maryam that Imran is a former prime minister and warned that “any deviation from court-mandated procedures in his case, or any disrespectful treatment of his immediate family, becomes a matter of direct institutional concern.”
The CM referred to the incident on Tuesday evening, when Rawalpindi police arrested the sisters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. This detention ended a 10-hour sit-in outside Adiala prison. The three sisters, Aleema, Dr Uzma and Noreen, were transferred to Chakri. The sit-in took place near the factory check post after the PTI founder and his family members, along with party leaders, were denied permission to assemble at the Adiala jail on the day of a planned visit.
In a statement on social media platform
Read: Aleema Khan recounts alleged police brutality during protest at Adiala Prison
“Clear and binding judicial instructions govern the schedule of Mr Imran Khan’s visits. Despite the unambiguous nature of these instructions, repeated reports indicate continued non-implementation by the authorities charged with respecting them.”
The Islamabad High Court issued several orders allowing the chief minister and Imran’s sisters to meet the former prime minister. However, these orders were not respected. Afridi himself was turned away seven times from Adiala.
He condemns the treatment of Imran’s sisters: “Even if restrictions were to exist for political visitors – who constitute an entirely different category – there is no conceivable legal or administrative basis for obstructing or mistreating immediate family members whose presence is neither political nor disruptive in nature.”
Aleema Khan, Imran’s sister, alleged that her elderly sister was dragged on the road and female lawyers were pushed into police vans. She further alleged that female police officers – whom she called “Gullu Butts women” – were summoned and that a police officer, identified as Gulnaz, ordered others to “beat them”.
Learn more: CM Sohail Afridi denied meeting Imran despite court orders
She said her sister Noreen, 71, was thrown to the ground and dragged, and that the sanctity of women’s veils was violated when 17 female lawyers were placed in a police van and dragged by their hair.
He demanded that the Punjab government ensure visits and implementation of all court directives, to hold accountable the staff accused of “physical mismanagement” of Imran’s family and KP ministers.
He called for clear instructions to be given to police and prison staff to avoid such incidents in the future and “establish a transparent mechanism to ensure that all future meetings are facilitated”.
