Police refrain from arresting Aleema Khan despite compliance with arrest warrant

ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi police on Thursday refrained from arresting Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, even though she complied with the arrest warrant issued against her.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Aleema Khan for the fourth time in relation to a protest case on November 26. However, it appears the police have decided not to arrest her.

At the previous hearing, the police submitted a report claiming that Aleema Khan had gone into hiding. However, Judge Amjad Ali Shah rejected the report, labeling it as “bogus.”

The ATC had also issued notices to Rawal Division SP Muhammad Saad and DSP Waris Khan Circle Naeem, directing them to appear before the court on Friday for contempt of court proceedings.

Today, she appeared at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a hearing related to a petition filed by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, requesting a meeting with Imran Khan.

Rawalpindi police also arrived at the IHC to comply with the arrest warrant. She signed the arrest warrant and surrendered to the police for arrest. Surprisingly, the police chose not to arrest her. One police officer responded, “Come back to court tomorrow.”

Speaking to the media outside the IHC, Aleema Khan stated that she was prepared for arrest.

“Someone informed me that my arrest warrant had arrived,” Aleema Khan said. “The police came to arrest me, and I signed the warrant, but they left without taking any further action. We were ready for the arrest, but after getting my signature, they simply walked away.”

In her media interaction, Aleema Khan also expressed concerns about the punishments meted out to PTI’s founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.