Pak: Imran Khan's family stages sit-in prayers after being barred from seeing him

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 7 (ANI): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan's sisters alongwith PTI members were barred from meeting him on Wednesday, prompting them to hold prayer sit-in outside Jail.
Protesters included Faisal Javed, PTI Senator, Rashid Qayamat Ali Butt, Protester from Lahore Wagha border, Syed Jibran Haider Shah Jee, Protester from Lahore).
Protesters prayed for the safety, health and life of Imran Khan and chanted slogans demanding his release.
A protester recounted their ordeal, saying that they have been trying to meet their leader for the past two years.
"We've been trying to meet for past two years, despite having court orders, not once, not twice more than 10 times when we come here to meet him- which is his legal right- they deny that meeting to they don't let him talk to his kids, his family. Then political people from his party, they're not allowed to meet him. Then lawyers, as legal aid, they are not allowed to meet him, despite having all those court orders," he said.
He added that they have been caught up in hamster wheel of arranging court orders for meeting Imran Khan and file for contempt each time they are denied.
"Time and again, we go back to the courts, get the orders again. Then, you know, we file the contempt, then get the order again, then come here. So this has been going on for past two years with me at least. So, you know, all those meetings which are his legal rights are being denied," he said.
The protester said that this was a sad state of affairs, as a sister is being denied the right to see her brother.
"We were reading Quranic verses and whatever has happened now, the water is all over our heads now. We don't know from where did it come but it wasn't there so all the ladies specially they were sitting reciting the Quranic verses. They had to get up so this is ridiculous. I mean, this was a peaceful protest. It's not a protest, in fact. It's just, you know, sisters are trying their legal right to meet their brother. And they were reading Quranic verses there and this happened. Very unfortunate. But people are still here and we'll keep on coming here. We'll keep on trying to meet Imran Khan," he said.
The protester further said that when Nawaz Sharif was jailed, such restrictions were not imposed on him.
"Remember when Nawaz Sharif was in jail, every week about 200 people would meet him easily without going to any court, without getting any permission. There was no need to get any permission. So people would come meet him easily. Now when Imran Khan is in jail, it has been two years that people are not allowed to meet him," he said.
Another protester said, "We stand in solidarity with Imran Khan's family. We will stand by his sisters till our last breath.
A court in Pakistan on January 2 sentenced several journalists and social media commentators to life imprisonment after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 linked to the arrest of Imran Khan, as reported by Al Jazeera.
An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict in Islamabad, after completing trials held in absentia.
The convicted include former army officers-turned YouTubers Adil Raja and Syed Akbar Hussain; journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir and Shaheen Sehbai, commentator Haider Raza Mehdi, and analyst Moeed Pirzada, according to the court's decision.
All the accused were absent from court proceedings as they have been living abroad after leaving Pakistan in recent years to avoid arrest, as per Al Jazeera.
The convictions stem from cases registered after unrest in May 2023 saw some of Khan's supporters attack military facilities and government property in response to his brief arrest in a corruption case.
Since then, the Pakistani government and military have launched a sweeping crackdown on Khan's party and dissenting voices, using anti-terrorism laws and military trials to prosecute hundreds accused of incitement and attacks on state institutions.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in 2023 that the investigations amounted to retaliation against critical reporting.
"Authorities must immediately drop these investigations and cease the relentless intimidation and censorship of the media," CPJ Asia programme coordinator Beh Lih Yi told Al Jazeera.
Since November 2025, family members of Imran Khan, have maintained they were barred from seeing him, prompting protests and causing concerns about his health.
After his sister, Uzma Khanum, finally visited him at Adiala jail, the central jail in Pakistan's Rawalpindi, close to the capital, Islamabad, on December 2, however, she said Khan's health appeared to be good, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)