RAWALPINDI: Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi met the incarcerated former prime minister on Tuesday after being allowed to enter Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, following a Supreme Court (SC) ruling allowing the PTI founder weekly meetings with his family.
Imran — imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in a £190 million corruption case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Despite an order by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowing him twice-a-week meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays with his family, lawyers and other associates, Imran has been restricted from meeting visitors for several months.
On Tuesday, however, Noreen Niazi was allowed to proceed to the jail and meet with Imran for the first time this year, being sent by the police to Gate no. 5 upon her arrival.
Jail sources said that the two met in the jail’s conference room, where they discussed his health and other issues. Noreen also informed the ex-premier about the SC’s earlier order to have him taken to Shifa International Hospital for a medical checkup, they added.
Meanwhile, the ex-premier’s other sisters — Aleema Khanum and Dr Uzma Khanum — and his cousin Qasim Zaman were stopped at Dahgal Naka, a security checkpoint and road intersection located on Adiala Road, and were barred from proceeding to the jail.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s senior provincial minister Meena Khan and PTI members Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry and Shahid Khattak were also present at the Factory checkpoint, where a heavy police contingent was deployed.
Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi also met with her family today in a conference room in the jail. Her health and legal matters were discussed during the meeting, which lasted 40 minutes and included her children Musa and Mubashara Maneka and sister-in-law Mehrunnisa.
Speaking to the media at the checkpoint, Aleema highlighted that the SC’s earlier ruling to send the PTI founder for a hospital checkup came after eight months of demands from the party.
Earlier today, the court ordered the constitution of a medical board at the hospital to examine the former premier, and directed jail authorities to ensure weekly meetings between Imran and his family members, as well as telephonic conversations with his sons.
“Politics does not trump health,” Aleema told the media while confirming that Noreen would be allowed to meet him. “We are his sisters — we talk about his health.”
However, she said that the family would not be speaking to the media upon leaving the jail.
Aleema noted that “justice is being carried out”, and that if it was not, there would be criticism — adding that there was “nothing hidden about what the IHC and courts have previously done”.
She also said that the SC should grant bail to Imran and Bushra Bibi.
“If the founder has got relief, then Bushra Bibi’s charges are weak,” she said, noting that just as Imran had gotten relief, Bushra should have gotten it earlier.
Regarding the status of a case registered against herself, pertaining to an Oct 4, 2024 protest, Aleema said that a witness had yet to be cross-examined. “We had said it should be done tomorrow, but they said preparations needed to be made,” she said.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media before her entry into the jail, Noreen said that she would tell Imran about the SC’s order for him to be moved to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital for a medical checkup.
“I will tell him what efforts PTI members have made for him,” she added.
Prior to the meeting taking place, PTI lawyer Advocate Awais Younas Chaudhry told Dawn outside Adiala Jail that the party finally had hope of learning the real-time condition of their founder. However, he added that it was decided that Noreen would not hold any media talks after her meeting with him.
Replying to a question, the advocate said he hoped that Imran would soon be moved to Shifa International Hospital.
“It has also been decided that no one will gather outside the hospital. If anyone has reached there, the PTI will disassociate itself from them,” he said, noting that the health of the chairman was the party’s first priority.
True to the party’s decision, upon exiting the jail, Noreen refused to speak to the media: when questioned, she signalled her silence with a finger to her lips. The three sisters left the jail upon the conclusion of the meeting.
The last confirmed meeting of the PTI founder was with Dr Uzma Khan on Dec 2, 2025. After this meeting, Uzma had said that while Imran’s health was fine, he was suffering from “mental torture” and was kept in isolation.
The ex-premier had also previously met with Noreen on Nov 4 last year.
