The sisters of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) early on Wednesday ended a sit-in near Adiala Jail after receiving assurances they will be able to meet the party founder next week.
In a video statement on X, Khan’s sister Aleema said Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai had assured them a meeting would occur next week. “This is what he reassured us about, that a meeting will be arranged next week,” she said, adding he had said the protesters should disperse voluntarily before police resorted to water cannons. She said she and her sisters had agreed to end the sit-in solely out of respect for Achakzai and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen chief Raja Abbas Nasir.
Khan’s sisters and a handful of protesters have been staging sit-ins near Adiala Jail every Tuesday to protest the denial of meetings with the former prime minister. Several of these sit-ins have been dispersed with water cannons, which the PTI alleges contains “chemicals.”
Departing the venue, Aleema maintained the “movement” was no longer for seeking a meeting with Khan, but rather had “transformed” into one seeking her brother’s release. She also lamented that, as per routine, lawmakers and organizers of the PTI had failed to participate. She warned that if the meeting were denied again next week, the protesters would remain at the venue.
“Next week, we will not move,” she said, as she has every week since she commenced the sit-ins. “If they do not allow a meeting, we will not move,” she said, once more echoing statements she has uttered every week.
In a separate video statement following the dispersal, Achakzai said denying meetings between Khan and his sisters was in violation of international laws. He said a station house officer had assured him he would try to arrange a meeting next week and urged PTI and TTAP supporters to gather in large numbers next week.
“If people want that a meeting with Imran should be allowed, especially PTI protesters, if they want that his sisters are respected, this is a test case for them. At least 10,000 people should be here next Tuesday,” he said. “If you don’t come, then forget about everything,” he added.
It remains unclear if a meeting would take place next week, however, as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry last month said no one would be permitted to meet Khan until Feb. 8.