Two sisters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Uzma Khan and Naureen Niazi, were released from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail on Thursday after spending several weeks in custody. Their lawyer, Mudassar Umar, confirmed that their detention orders were suspended by the government. The pair had been held ahead of a proposed anti-government protest organized by Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). While these two have been freed, PTI officials noted that a third sister, Aleema Khan, remains incarcerated.

The government initially justified the arrests by citing potential threats to public order surrounding the planned march on Islamabad, an event that eventually failed to materialize. Family members, including Uzma Khan’s son, Wali Khan, have criticized the move as legally baseless and arbitrary, pointing to the lack of transparency behind the 53-day detention. This development coincides with reports that the former premier himself received medical attention at an Islamabad hospital for blood pressure and an eye condition while continuing his long-term imprisonment in Adiala Jail. Khan, who has been held since 2023, maintains that the myriad of corruption charges against him are merely a political maneuver to keep him sidelined.