PTI MNAs criticise Aleema Khan for unplanned sit-in outside Adiala Jail

LAHORE: Several lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) criticised party founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, for staging an unplanned sit-in outside Adiala Jail, sources revealed.

Details from the recent meeting of the PTI parliamentary party have emerged. According to insiders, a number of MNAs expressed displeasure over the sit-in, saying that such prolonged protests should not be held without proper planning.

Some lawmakers complained that while they themselves reached Adiala Jail, members of the party’s social media team did not show up. “It is easy to criticise from home or from abroad,” PTI MNAs reportedly remarked.

Sources said Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafari, Chairman of the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), and PTI leader Salman Akram Raja urged Imran Khan’s sisters to end the protest after 10:00 pm. However, their request was declined, leading to tension.

Sources further stated that some lawmakers defended Imran Khan’s sisters, arguing that they have every right to protest as they hold no political office and are not bound by party discipline.

A day earlier, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the police action to disperse the sit-in staged by PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters and party workers outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House alongside other PTI leaders, Barrister Gohar criticised the government for what he called “high-handed tactics” and warned authorities against attempts to ban the party.

“Water cannons were used on people who only wanted to meet their leader,” he said. “Why were water cannons used on his sisters and workers last night outside Adiala Jail?”

Barrister Gohar said stopping meetings with the PTI founder would achieve nothing. “Do not provoke the people of Pakistan,” he warned. “Allow his sisters and lawyers to meet him.”