• PTI claims several held, injured after police scuttle rally in Pindi
• Aleema seeks brother’s release; Uzma confident Feb 8 protest will ‘shut down’ entire country
ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Tuesday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking permission to meet incarcerated leader Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in Adiala jail, as well as an order by the court to end their unlawful solitary confinement.
On the other hand, the Punjab police used force to disperse a PTI protest in Rawalpindi after the former ruling party wrapped up its sit-in outside the prison and decided to stage a rally in the garrison city. The PTI, in a statement posted on X after midnight, said the police crackdown resulted in several arrests and injuries.
A group of about 17 senators, including Senator Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, approached the high court under Article 199 of the Constitution, making the Punjab Home Department and the Adiala jail superintendent respondents.
The petition challenged the alleged unlawful and unconstitutional use of solitary confinement and other inhumane practices against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in jail. According to the petition, the continued solitary confinement amounts to torture and violates fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
Barrister Zafar said the senators approached the court in discharge of their constitutional duty of parliamentary oversight and to safeguard human dignity and the rule of law.
The petition maintained Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi had been kept in prolonged isolation for the last two months without any judicial order or statutory justification under the Pakistan Penal Code or the Prisons Act.
It alleged denial of basic prisoner entitlements, including access to books, newspapers, TV, family visits, and confidential meetings with counsel, as well as the arbitrary refusal to allow lawmakers to meet them.
The senators contended that these measures were punitive, politically motivated, and part of a broader pattern of coercive treatment of political detainees, undermining constitutional democracy and parliamentary oversight.
Separately, PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja also arrived at the IHC to seek the fixing of cases related to Mr Khan and Bushra Bibi.
According to sources, the PTI leadership requested a meeting with the IHC chief justice, but the meeting could not take place.
Speaking to the media, Barrister Gohar said he had gone to the chief justice’s chamber to request early fixation of the cases but was unable to meet him. He added that another attempt would be made later.
Barrister Gohar said the PTI had approached the IHC about 15 times but could not secure a hearing date, stressing that a woman’s appeal should be heard expeditiously.
Crackdown on PTI rally
The PTI supporters and family members of Imran Khan staged a sit-in outside the prison for a few hours after they were barred from meeting the former prime minister in the morning. In the late evening, they decided to stage a rally in the garrison city, prompting the police to disperse the crowd.
A video posted by the PTI on X showed several cars leaving the jail area, with party workers and supporters moving on foot. “Even today, Chairman Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were not granted a meeting with the family. Khan sahib’s sisters and party workers have set off for a protest rally in Islamabad,” the post’s caption read.
However, the rally was scuttled by the police, with videos of the crackdown posted on X by the PTI. These videos could not be independently verified.
The PTI claimed that its workers were also injured in the action, and several, including minors, were allegedly rounded up. It also alleged that the police roughed up the sisters of Mr Khan and other party leaders.
Visit to Adiala
In the morning on their way to the prison, the PTI leaders were stopped at ‘DHA Naka’ instead of ‘Factory Chowk’, but were allowed to move a little further after some time.
Imran’s sister Uzma Khanam said that it has been decided that wherever the police stop them, they will hold ‘Quran Khwani’ there. She said that on February 8, the entire country “will be jammed” to protest the alleged rigging in the 2024 elections.
She urged the party supporters to fly kites with the name of Imran Khan on Basant so that “his name and picture would be on land and in the skies”.
Replying to a question, Aleema Khan said they wanted the release of Imran Khan instead of just meetings.
PTI leader Shafiullah Jan said that in the past, the authorities used to stop PTI workers three kilometres from the jail, but on Tuesday, they were stopped eight kilometres from the jail.
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2026
