Aleema Khan refuses to go to KP, says she is ready to go to jail

LAHORE: Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, on Friday asked the police to arrest her, declaring that she is ready to go to jail.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday directed authorities to block Aleema Khan’s national identity card (CNIC) after she repeatedly failed to appear before the court in a case related to the November 26 protest.

The judge ordered the Director General of Immigration and Passports to block her passport. The court also instructed the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Jameel Ahmed, to immediately freeze all of her bank accounts.

However, Aleema Khan and her sister Uzma Khan appeared before an ATC in Lahore on Friday in connection with a separate case pertaining to the October 5 PTI protest. ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul extended their interim bail until December 5, 2025.

Speaking to the media outside the court, Aleema Khan said she was not afraid of arrest and would not bow down to pressure.

“They can’t silence me. I am ready to go to jail,” she said. “KP officials offered to move me to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but I refused. Let the police arrest me.”

She reiterated her resolve to continue speaking out despite what she called attempts by authorities to intimidate her and other PTI members.

Earlier, Rawalpindi police on Thursday refrained from arresting Aleema Khan, even though she complied with the arrest warrant issued against her.

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.