After wife, Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan's sisters also released from jail

A day after former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, was released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, were also released from Jhelum district jail.

Aleema and Uzma Khan were detained on Oct. 4 amid a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led protest at D-Chowk, part of an “independence” campaign launched by the former ruling party to support judicial independence and advocate for Khan’s release from prison. Several PTI leaders and demonstrators were arrested in connection with the protest.

A large number of PTI supporters gathered outside Jhelum district jail to welcome the sisters upon their release.

'Peaceful protest our right'

"Peaceful protest is our constitutional right, but they tried to take that away from us," Aleema told reporters after her release.

"They wanted to charge us with making a bomb to blow up the [National] Assembly, but they couldn’t charge us for protesting, as it's protected by the Constitution."

She added that PTI will continue its peaceful protests until Imran Khan is released from prison. "No one can stop us; our Constitution gives us that right," she concluded.

The release came after Judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain of Islamabad’s Anti-Terrorism Court granted bail to the sisters earlier in the day.

The court’s decision pertains to a case filed against them at the Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad, where charges were registered under 16 terrorism-related provisions, underscoring the gravity of the accusations stemming from the October protest.

The case involved what authorities called serious offenses, with allegations tied to terrorism provisions following the D-Chowk demonstration.

PTI leaders had gathered at the Islamabad site in early October to protest what they described as politically motivated crackdowns on their party.

The party has repeatedly claimed that these actions are intended to stifle opposition voices, with Khan’s sisters facing what the PTI characterizes as harsh treatment in detention.

Relief for PTI

Imran Khan's sisters were released after his wife, Bushra Bibi, who was granted bail in an alleged illegal state gifts case.

These developments bring the most significant legal relief for Khan and his family since his imprisonment last August. Bushra Bibi, detained in January, was freed from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the former prime minister remains in custody.

She has since traveled to Peshawar.