Imran Khan’s Sisters Uzma and Noreen Released After More Than Seven Weeks in Jail — Aleema Khan Still Behind Bars

Two sisters of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan walked free on Thursday, 12 November 2026, after more than seven weeks in detention. Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were released from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore after the Punjab government withdrew their detention orders, their lawyer confirmed. But the family’s relief is only partial: their elder sister, Aleema Khan, remains behind bars.

The release of Imran Khan’s sisters ends a detention that began in September, when the three women were picked up ahead of a planned protest by Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). They were never charged with a crime. They were held under a public order law that allows the government to detain people without trial when it says they could be a threat to law and order.

For the PTI, the release is a small but welcome piece of good news in a week already full of headlines about its founder. Just a day earlier, Imran Khan himself was taken from Adiala Jail to a hospital in Islamabad for medical treatment, before being returned to prison. His party has spent months campaigning for his release — and for the release of his sisters, who had become a symbol of that campaign.

What happened on Thursday

Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were freed from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Thursday afternoon, after the Punjab government withdrew the extended detention orders under which they were being held.

PTI legal counsel Rana Mudassar Umer confirmed the release in a post on X, saying both women had returned home “safely”. Kot Lakhpat Jail Superintendent Chaudhry Ijaz Asghar confirmed to The Express Tribune that the two sisters were handed over to Noreen’s daughter, Hajra Niazi, after their release.

PTI senior leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi welcomed the news in a statement, writing: “Finally, some good news. Two of former PM Imran Khan’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, have been released from Kot Lakhpat Jail following the withdrawal of their detention orders.”

He added, however, that Khan’s elder sister Aleema Khan remains behind bars — a point the party was quick to underline. The release of two sisters does not end the family’s ordeal, and the PTI made clear it will keep pressing for Aleema’s freedom as well.

Why were Imran Khan’s sisters in jail?

The three sisters were detained in September 2026, as the PTI prepared for a protest march towards Islamabad to demand Imran Khan’s release.

Aleema Khan was detained first, on 20 September. Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi were taken into custody a day later, on 21 September. All three were detained under Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960, on orders from the Lahore deputy commissioner.

The government’s position, reported at the time, was that the sisters could have been a threat to law and order ahead of the planned march, because they were helping to mobilise people for the protest. The march itself ultimately did not go ahead. The federal government also suspended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, which is led by Khan’s party and had been organising the demonstration.

The sisters were not accused of any crime, and no criminal case was brought against them. Their detention was preventive — the kind the MPO law is designed for — rather than the result of a charge or a trial.

That distinction matters. Under the MPO, a person can be detained on the say-so of a district administration, without being produced before a court to answer charges. It is a colonial-era law that governments in Pakistan have used for decades against political opponents, protesters and activists, and it has long been criticised by lawyers and human rights groups.

What is the MPO law, in simple words?

The Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance is a law from 1960 that gives the government the power to detain a person for up to 30 days at a time if it believes the person may disturb public order.

Here is how it works in practice:

• No charge is needed. The government does not have to accuse the person of a crime or present evidence in court.
• A district officer orders the detention. In this case, the orders were issued by the deputy commissioner of Lahore.
• The detention can be extended. After the first 30 days, the government can extend the order for another 30 days, as it did here.
• Courts can be asked to intervene. The family challenged the detention in the Lahore High Court after the first 30-day period ended. During those proceedings, the Punjab government told the court it had extended the detention for a further 30 days.

Critics say the law is too easily used against political opponents, because it lets the state lock people up first and explain later. Supporters of the law, including successive governments, argue it is needed to stop trouble before it starts, especially ahead of large protests.

In this case, the sisters spent more than seven weeks in jail — The Express Tribune put the figure at 50 days — without ever being charged.

Noreen Niazi’s health scare in jail

One detail from the detention has drawn particular attention: Noreen Niazi, who is in her seventies, was moved from Kot Lakhpat Jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on 28 October because of high blood pressure.

Wali Khan said on X that the family was not told about the hospital transfer at the time. “For 53 days they were held under Section 3 of the MPO. No charge. No trial. Two weeks ago, Noreen, in her seventies, was taken to a cardiac hospital. No one told us. Today they were let out. No reason given,” he wrote.

The family’s account underlines why the detention became a talking point well beyond PTI circles: two older women, one of them with a heart condition, held for weeks without charge.

Who is still in jail?

Aleema Khan, the eldest of the three sisters, remains in Kot Lakhpat Jail. She was the first of the sisters to be detained, on 20 September, and no information about her release has emerged so far.

Aleema Khan has been the most visible of the sisters in the campaign for her brother’s release, regularly speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail and leading PTI gatherings. Her continued detention means the PTI’s campaign on this issue is far from over.

Imran Khan himself remains in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he has been imprisoned since 2023. He was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad overnight for a medical check-up and returned to Adiala Jail, ahead of a court-ordered meeting with his lawyers in connection with his £190 million case appeal. Read our earlier report: Imran Khan Taken to Hospital for Eye Treatment, Returns to Adiala Jail

That case — the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, in which Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted — is now before the Islamabad High Court on appeal. Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s £190m Case Appeals Reach Islamabad High Court

What the PTI and the family are saying

The PTI’s reaction to Thursday’s release was relief mixed with anger that the detention happened at all.

PTI lawyer Taimur Malik said on X that the two women had been released upon the withdrawal of what he called the “unlawful MPO detention order”. The party’s position is that the detention was never justified, and that the sisters should never have spent a single day in jail.

Wali Khan struck a similar note, pointing out that his mother and aunt were freed without any reason being given — just as, in his words, no reason was given for locking them up.

The release also comes against the backdrop of a wider political crackdown on the PTI. In recent weeks the federal government suspended the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and imposed governor’s rule in the province, a move the opposition is challenging in court. Opposition Demands Judicial Review of Emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

For the PTI, the sisters’ detention had become a symbol of that wider crackdown — and their release, even a partial one, is being presented as a small victory.

Why this story matters

The release of Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi matters for three reasons.

First, it shows the limits of preventive detention. The sisters were held for more than seven weeks without charge, and then released without explanation. That pattern — detention without charge, release without reason — is exactly what critics of the MPO law say is wrong with it. The case is now likely to be cited in the ongoing debate about whether the law should be reformed or repealed.

Second, it is a test of the political temperature. The PTI had planned a major march on Islamabad in September, and the detentions were part of the government’s effort to stop it. The fact that two of the three sisters have now been freed may signal a slight easing — or it may simply be that the government no longer sees them as a risk now that the protest has fizzled out. What happens to Aleema Khan will be a clearer signal: if she is freed soon, it would suggest a genuine de-escalation; if she stays in jail, the pressure on the PTI continues.

Third, it keeps the focus on Imran Khan himself. The former prime minister has been in prison since 2023, and his health and his legal cases are a constant source of political tension. His sisters have been his most persistent public advocates, and their detention kept his case in the headlines even when he was out of sight. Their release — and Aleema’s continued detention — will keep it there.

What happens next?

The immediate question is what happens to Aleema Khan. The PTI is expected to press for her release, both in public and in court, and her lawyers are likely to challenge her detention in the Lahore High Court, as the family did for her sisters.

The wider legal picture is also moving. The Lahore High Court has already been hearing challenges to the sisters’ detention, and the court’s view of the MPO extensions could matter for future cases. If the court finds the extensions were unlawful, it would be a significant check on the government’s use of the law.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s own legal battles continue. His appeal in the £190 million case is before the Islamabad High Court, and the outcome of that appeal will shape the PTI’s political future as much as anything else.

For now, though, one family in Lahore is reunited — minus one sister. Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi are home after more than seven weeks in jail. Aleema Khan is still in Kot Lakhpat Jail, and her family and her party are waiting for the day she walks out too.

Frequently asked questions

Who are Imran Khan’s sisters?

Imran Khan has three sisters: Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi. Aleema, the eldest, has been the most publicly active in campaigning for her brother’s release. Uzma is a doctor, and Noreen is in her seventies.

Why were they put in jail?

They were detained in September 2026 under Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, ahead of a planned PTI protest march towards Islamabad. The government said they could have been a threat to law and order because they were helping to mobilise people for the protest. They were never charged with a crime.

How long were Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi in jail?

They were detained on 21 September 2026 and released on 12 November 2026 — more than seven weeks. The Express Tribune reported the detention lasted 50 days.

Why is Aleema Khan still in jail?

Aleema Khan was detained a day earlier than her sisters, on 20 September, and her detention order has not been withdrawn. No official reason has been given for her continued detention, and the PTI says it will keep pressing for her release.

What is the MPO law?

The Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, is a law that lets the government detain a person for up to 30 days at a time — extendable — without charging them with a crime, if it believes the person may disturb public order. It is often used ahead of protests and has long been criticised by lawyers and rights groups.

Where is Imran Khan now?

Imran Khan has been imprisoned in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023. He was briefly taken to PIMS hospital in Islamabad for a medical check-up and returned to jail. His appeal in the £190 million case is before the Islamabad High Court.

Conclusion

The release of Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi is good news for one family, and a small moment of relief in a long and bitter political standoff. But it is not the end of the story. A third sister is still in jail, a former prime minister is still in prison, and the law that put the sisters behind bars without charge is still on the books.

The questions this case raises — about preventive detention, about the treatment of political families, and about the space for protest in Pakistan — will not go away with one release. They will follow Aleema Khan’s case, and Imran Khan’s, in the weeks to come.

Sources

• Dawn — Imran’s sisters Uzma, Noreen released from jail after extended detention orders withdrawn, says lawyer: https://www.dawn.com/news/2044037
• Khaleej Times — Pakistan releases ex-PM Imran Khan’s two sisters from jail: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/pakistan-imran-khan-2-sisters-released-jail
• The Express Tribune — Imran Khan’s two sisters released after 50 days in detention: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639924/uzma-khan-noreen-niazi-released-after-50-days-in-detention
• Business Recorder — Imran Khan’s sisters Noreen, Uzma released from Kot Lakhpat jail: https://www.brecorder.com/news/amp/40448587
• ETV Bharat — Pakistan’s Punjab Govt Releases Two Sisters Of Imran Khan From Jail: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/international/pakistan-punjab-govt-releases-two-sisters-of-imran-khan-from-jail-enn26111204670

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.