LHC Summons Home Secretary, Kot Lakhpat Jail Chief in Imran Sisters’ Detention Case
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday summoned the Punjab home secretary and the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat jail in the Imran sisters detention case, directing both officials to appear in person along with their reports. Justice Abher Gul Khan adjourned the hearing until October 28.
The case concerns three sisters of former prime minister Imran Khan, Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan, who were taken into custody in September under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. Their detention was ordered for 30 days as the PTI geared up for a planned protest march towards Islamabad.
A day earlier, Aleema Khan’s son Shahrez Khan filed a fresh plea challenging their continued detention, saying the orders expired on October 19 and 20 but the sisters remained at Kot Lakhpat jail despite requests for release.
What happened at Thursday’s hearing
Advocate Rana Mudassar Umar, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the detention orders had lapsed but the jail authorities had not released the three sisters.
Justice Khan asked the counsel why the Lahore deputy commissioner had not been made a respondent in the petition. The counsel replied that the deputy commissioner had not been impleaded because the detention notification issued by that official had already expired.
Uzma Khan’s husband Ahad Khan also asked the court to summon the deputy commissioner, but the judge observed that the official could not be summoned since he had not been made a party to the petition. Both officials must now appear in person on October 28 with their reports.
The Imran Sisters Detention Case: what the plea argues
Shahrez Khan’s petition contends that keeping the three women in custody beyond the stipulated 30-day period is unlawful and violates their fundamental rights. It argues that the detention was a consequence of the sisters’ efforts to secure their brother’s release from prison.
The plea maintains that preventive detention cannot substitute for ordinary criminal law, and that the order violates Article 10 of the Constitution and the safeguards of Section 3 of the MPO.
The petitioner wants the detention orders declared void and suspended, and the jail superintendent directed to produce the women and “set them at liberty, in the interest of justice, equity and fair play”.
Earlier petitions and the road to October 28
Two earlier petitions against the detention orders were disposed of on October 9 and 12, when the LHC directed the home department to decide the pending representations without expressing any opinion on the merits.
Feature Pakistan earlier reported the filing of Wednesday’s fresh plea by Shahrez Khan, which named the Punjab home secretary, the inspector general of police, the Lahore capital city police officer and the jail superintendent as respondents. Thursday’s order narrows the court’s focus to the home secretary and the jail superintendent, both of whom must now personally explain why the women remain in custody.
The detention took place in September as the PTI prepared a march on Islamabad, a protest plan that later unravelled amid open disagreement within the party’s ranks over its future course of action. The party has since been pressing the government to reverse the emergency measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and release political prisoners as a precondition for talks. A cousin of the family had earlier said Imran Khan’s sisters went on hunger strike for two days while in custody.
Whether the October 28 hearing brings their release will depend on the officials’ reports, and on whether the court accepts that every extra day in custody after the orders’ expiry is unlawful.
Who are the three sisters in detention?
Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan are the sisters of PTI founder Imran Khan. They have been held at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail since their detention in September under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.
Why were they detained?
The three women were detained for 30 days under Section 3 of the Punjab MPO Ordinance, 1960, as the PTI prepared for a planned protest march towards Islamabad.
What did the LHC order on Thursday?
The court summoned the Punjab home secretary and the Kot Lakhpat jail superintendent to appear in person with their reports, and adjourned the hearing until October 28.
What does the fresh plea seek?
Shahrez Khan’s petition asks the court to declare the detention orders void, suspend their operation, and direct the jail authorities to release the three women.
*Source: Dawn first reported Thursday’s hearing.*
