Imran Khan’s three sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan and Dr Uzma Khan — have been camped outside Adiala Jail, pleading for six weeks for a visit.
Their peaceful protest turned into what they call a shocking display of state violence.
In a letter to Punjab police chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters said the violence was “brutal and orchestrated and carried out by policemen without provocation.”
“We peacefully protested over concerns for his health condition. We neither blocked roads nor obstructed public movement, nor engaged in any unlawful conduct. Yet, without warning or provocation, the streetlights in the area were abruptly switched off, deliberately casting the scene into darkness. What followed was a brutal and orchestrated assault by Punjab police personnel,” Noreen Niazi said.
“At the age of 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown violently to the ground, and dragged across the road, sustaining visible injuries,” she lambasted.
“Police’s conduct was part of a broader and troubling pattern of indiscriminate force used against peacefully protesting citizens over three years, reflecting a troubling impunity. Police’s conduct was not wholly criminal, illegal, morally reprehensible, and in direct contradiction to the foundational duties of any law enforcement agency in a democratic society,” she added.