Court wants a fresh filing on care and visits
The Lahore High Court on Friday instructed lawyers acting for Noreen Niazi — sibling of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan — to put a distinct civil miscellaneous plea before the bench if they want orders on medical care and meetings with relatives. Justice Abher Gul Khan gave that direction while hearing a challenge by Sakeena Niazi to the prolonged preventive custody of Noreen and Dr Uzma Khan.
The judge asked whether any request for treatment permission and family access already existed on the court record. Advocate Rana Mudassar Umar said such a request had gone to the deputy commissioner. The bench then told counsel to lodge a parallel application with the high court as well.
Hospital transfer and counsel’s concerns
On Wednesday evening, staff at Kot Lakhpat Jail, where Noreen is held, advised moving her after her health declined. She was taken to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Umar told the court that Noreen, who is 70, had no prior heart disease, and he questioned what strain in custody could have forced a hospital admission.
He argued that extending the women’s custody lacked a lawful basis, saying the new orders largely copied earlier ones apart from updated dates. Suspending those notices, he said, would open a path to free them.
PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja, present in court, said Noreen was unwell and had been placed in intensive care. He added that neither relatives nor her lawyer had been allowed contact, and he did not know whether she remained at the hospital or had returned to jail.
When the bench asked about the home secretary’s return from travel abroad, Additional Advocate General Nasir Chohan said he would verify and update the court. A separate challenge by Shahrez Khan over the custody of his mother, Aleema Khan, still awaits a hearing date.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- September: Authorities held Imran Khan’s sisters under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order law as PTI prepared a march toward Islamabad seeking his release and constitutional supremacy.
- 24 September: The Lahore High Court refused an immediate stay of the preventive custody notices against Noreen and Dr Uzma.
- 7 October: The government told the court that the sisters’ custody periods had been lengthened.
- 19–20 October: The original 30-day terms were due to end — Aleema on 19 October, Uzma and Noreen on 20 October — yet the women stayed in jail after the extension.
- Wednesday evening (this week): Jail doctors recommended sending Noreen to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology as her condition worsened.
- Friday: Justice Abher Gul Khan ordered counsel to file a separate miscellaneous plea for treatment and family meetings.
Earlier this month, Imran’s cousin Qasim Zaman was also taken into custody when he arrived at Adiala jail to see the former prime minister, amid a wider clampdown on PTI as the party pressed its protest plan.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Lahore High Court ne Noreen Niazi ke wakilon se kaha ke ilaj aur family se milne ke liye alag darkhwast darj karein. Jail se unhein dil ke hospital PIC bheja gaya tha kyunke sehat kharab ho gayi thi. Party ke log kehte hain ke ICU mein rakha gaya aur abhi mulakat nahi mili. Agli darkhwast se court medical care aur visits par faisla de sakti hai.
