Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, sisters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, were transferred to District Jail Jhelum from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Saturday following an anti-terrorism court’s decision to reject a police request for an extension of their physical remand and order their shift to judicial remand.
The sisters were arrested during a PTI protest at D-Chowk in Islamabad last week. Following the court’s decision, police sources confirmed that foolproof security measures are in place in Jhelum. They noted that although 500 prisoners are set to be transferred to Jhelum jail, these transfers occur in small groups.
Efforts to reach Jail Superintendent Syed Hassan Mujtaba Shah for comments were unsuccessful.
During a recent session, the Rawalpindi ATC declined the police’s plea to extend the sisters’ physical remand and issued notices concerning their bail applications. Both were presented in court under stringent security, where their lawyers and the prosecution exchanged arguments.
Defence counsel Niazullah Khan Niazi argued that there was no justification for further physical remand. Meanwhile, prosecutor Raja Naveed insisted on additional remand to retrieve “critical evidence” such as mobile phones and other items.
Defence lawyer Usman Riaz Gill highlighted that the legal protocols for remanding women were not adequately followed. He requested the court to review footage of his clients during the protest, claiming it would reveal the unlawfulness of the police’s actions. However, Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra denied this request, directing police investigators to examine the USB containing the footage.
Judge Sipra expressed dissatisfaction with the prosecution’s inability to thoroughly document every development in the case. The court has scheduled the next hearing for the bail applications on October 19.
