LHC directs Noreen Niazi’s counsel to file separate plea for treatment, family access

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday directed the counsel for Noreen Niazi, sister of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, to file a separate application for medical treatment and family meetings for her, after the court was informed that she was unwell and had been shifted to hospital from jail.

LHC Judge Justice Abher Gul Khan issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by Sakeena Niazi challenging the extension of the preventive detention of Noreen and Imran Khan’s other sisters, Dr Uzma Khan and Aleema Khan.

Advocate Rana Mudassar Umar, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that an application seeking permission for medical treatment and meetings with family members had already been submitted to the Lahore deputy commissioner.

The judge directed him to also file a separate civil miscellaneous application before the court to seek the requested relief.

During the proceedings, Umar questioned the justification for extending the detention of the two women, arguing that the fresh detention orders were virtually identical to the previous ones, with only the dates changed. He said suspending the detention notifications would pave the way for their release.

He also told the court that Noreen, 70, had no previous history of heart disease and questioned the circumstances that led to her hospitalisation while in custody.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, who was also present during the hearing, said Noreen was seriously ill and had been shifted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. He claimed that neither her family members nor lawyers had been allowed to meet her.

Raja also told the court that he did not know whether Noreen was still in hospital or had been transferred back to jail.

Noreen was shifted from Kot Lakhpat jail to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore on Wednesday evening after her health deteriorated. Her lawyer had said she was taken to the hospital on the recommendation of jail doctors after experiencing high blood pressure.

The reported denial of family access has remained a point of concern for her lawyers. On Friday, Umar said the civil administration had not allowed even Noreen’s daughter to meet her at the hospital.

The government, however, has said that Noreen was provided medical treatment promptly and that her condition was stable. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah told the Senate on Thursday that all her medical tests had returned normal. He also said he would seek details about reports that her family had been denied access and that the government would try to facilitate a meeting.

After the hearing, Salman Akram Raja criticised the government and law enforcement agencies over Noreen’s continued detention, describing it as unjustifiable given her reported health condition.

He questioned how a woman receiving treatment in a hospital’s intensive care unit could be considered a threat to public order after her release, calling the argument that she might disturb public peace unreasonable.

Raja alleged that the action was intended to put pressure on Imran Khan and his family and intimidate the public. He said the issue extended beyond the former prime minister’s family, claiming that hundreds of families across the country were facing similar treatment.

He further argued that the initial 30-day detention orders had been extended by another 30 days without fresh evidence or proper consideration, describing the move as an abuse of the deputy commissioner’s powers.

Raja demanded that Noreen be given immediate access to her family and that her complete medical records be provided to her relatives.

Noreen, Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan were detained in September under Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960, amid the PTI’s preparations for a planned protest march towards Islamabad.

Aleema was detained on September 20, while Noreen and Uzma were taken into custody on September 21.

Their initial 30-day detention orders were subsequently extended for another 30 days on October 7, with the Punjab government informing the Lahore High Court of the extension on October 26.

A separate petition filed by Shahrez Khan challenging the detention of his mother, Aleema Khan, is yet to be fixed for hearing.

Earlier on Thursday, adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah told the Senate that all medical tests of Noreen Niazi had returned normal after she was taken to hospital from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.