Police arrest Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan's sister in Lahore ahead of march

Police have arrested Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan's jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan at her house in Lahore, according to a spokesperson from his political party.

The arrest comes a week before a planned protest march by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on 27 September in the capital demanding her brother's release.

A notification issued by Lahore's district administration said she has been arrested and sent to jail for 30 days.

"According to intelligence reports, her presence at any public place will pose a grave threat to public safety," the district administration said.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that the government would do everything it could to stop the protest march.

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.

Who is Imran Khan?

The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August 2023 after being convicted in a string of cases he says were politically driven, having been ousted from power in 2022.

In December, his sister told Sky News' Yalda Hakim her brother was being "mentally tortured" by being kept in solitary confinement.

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She also accused the government of "operating out of fear" and wanting to "supress the people of Pakistan".

In August, the ex-prime minister was returned to prison after being temporarily moved to a private hospital for treatment, a ‌spokesman for his party ⁠said.

His lawyers say he has lost significant vision in his right eye while in prison, and Khan's sons have repeatedly raised concerns about his health.

The government told the Associated Press in August that it denies allegations that Khan has been subjected to "cruelty, mental torture, punitive solitary confinement and medical neglect" while in prison.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police arrest Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan's sister in Lahore ahead of march