Rawalpindi [Pakistan], April 18 (ANI): Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and family members of party founder Imran Khan were briefly detained near Adiala Jail in Pakistan's Rawalpindi on Thursday, The Express Tribune reported.

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bhachar, SIC chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Imran Khan's three sisters -- Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan -- along with their cousin Qasim Khan, were among those arrested on Thursday. Later, police released all of them.

PTI shared the video on the social media platform X when the leaders were being taken into the police van.

While sharing the video on X, PTI wrote, 'Imran Khan's sisters and PTI leaders have been detained outside Adiala Jail. What kind of justice system arrests family members and party leaders for following court-approved visitation procedures? Imran Khan's sisters and PTI officials are being targeted simply for exercising their legal right to see him at Adiala Jail. This is a direct assault on the foundations of justice and due process.'

https://x.com/PTIofficial/status/1912868147616432293

According to eyewitnesses and statements made by Aleema Khan and Omar Ayub, police took them on a mysterious drive across the city in a prison van, with stops at places like a petrol pump and a restaurant before being finally released.

Before being taken into the van, Aleema Khan said, 'I told them: even if you leave us in a deserted field, we'll come back. We won't leave until we meet Imran or they jail us.'

They stated that no meeting took place, despite the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directing the Adiala Jail authorities to allow Imran Khan to meet with PTI leaders. They further stated that the jail authorities and police allegedly blocked their access for the second week in a row.

Aleema Khan slammed the authorities following their release, terming their actions a blatant disregard for instructions issued by the judiciary.

She said, 'Forget that we're Imran's sisters - just look at what they're doing to elected parliamentarians.' She added, 'It's a mockery of the justice system. If judges can't ensure their orders are followed, why occupy those seats? Step aside and let someone deliver justice.'

Aleema Khan warned that routinely flouting court orders amounts to contempt. She asked, 'Judges should be more worried than we. Even the Chief Justice of Pakistan's orders hold no weight with the jail authorities. Is this why judges are paid and privileged?'

Speaking to reporters after the arrest, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub called Thursday 'an indictment day for Pakistan's judiciary' and stated that a virtual martial law is already enforced in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.

Elaborating on the incident, Omar Ayub stated that he visited Adiala Jail at 12:30 p.m. (local time) and crossed one checkpoint. However, police stopped him at the next checkpoint. He said that police officials told him that 'an intelligence colonel' had directed them not to allow them through.

He told the authorities that his car bore a Pakistani flag as he represented the state. He questioned, 'Would the heavens have fallen if we met Imran Khan?' and added that foreign investors would not come to Pakistan until the country has a rule of law and constitutional supremacy.

Omar Ayub warned the judiciary that people's trust in the system is eroding rapidly, as orders were not being followed by Punjab police and intelligence officials, and urged the courts to assert their authority.

He even accused Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, of misleading the people. Ayub said the speaker stated that PTI's resolution on canals was submitted on April 10, but he claimed it was submitted on March 12, 2025.

He asked, 'What action did Sadiq take when our lawmakers were dragged out of Parliament?' He expressed regret that people saw their elected representatives being taken into prison vans.

Meanwhile, PTI leaders condemned the detentions and warned of growing public backlash if such actions continued. Taking to social media platforms, PTI leaders said that these actions will only deepen political instability and increase public anger in Pakistan. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja stated that orders issued by courts were being routinely disregarded.

He called on the public to raise their voice against the violation of court orders and to save Pakistan from turning into a jungle or a graveyard, The Express Tribune reported. He said that PTI is raising its voice for the people of Pakistan and vowed to continue fighting for legal rights and to raise issues before the courts. (ANI)