LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — Noreen Niazi, the 70-year-old sister of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, has been moved from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology after suffering heart-related discomfort in detention, her lawyer said on Wednesday.
“Noreen Niazi Sahiba has been transferred to Punjab Institute of Cardiology due to deteriorating health in jail,” her lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umar, wrote on X, adding that no member of her family had been told of the transfer. There was no immediate word on her condition.
Held without charge since September
Noreen and her sister Uzma Khan have been detained since September 21 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, which allows the authorities to hold people without charge to prevent threats to public order. Their sister Aleema Khan was detained a day earlier. The arrests came ahead of PTI’s nationwide protest and planned long march on Islamabad on September 27, demanding Imran’s release.
The Punjab government recently extended the detention of all three sisters by another 30 days, according to a report submitted to the Lahore High Court. Aleema’s son, Shahrez Khan, had challenged the detentions, but the court disposed of his petition after reviewing the Punjab home secretary’s report confirming the extension.
A family at the centre of the PTI struggle
The sisters have led PTI’s campaign for access to their brother, who has been in jail since August 2023, repeatedly going to court over family visits and his medical care. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi hinted that Imran could be moved from Adiala to Islamabad’s new Model Jail.
Correction: An earlier version of this article, based on initial reports, said Aleema Khan had been taken to hospital. It was her sister Noreen Niazi.
