Pakistan's federal health authorities have directed hospitals in Islamabad to prepare for a potential 'humanitarian crisis' and 'mass casualty incident' ahead of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest scheduled for 27 September 2026, according to a report by Drop Site News. The emergency-level medical preparations are already disrupting routine patient care across the capital.

Hospital Preparations Under Way

Surgical departments are being reorganised to accommodate a potential influx of casualties, according to people familiar with the situation cited in the report. Patients whose operations were already scheduled have been told their procedures are postponed indefinitely.

Leave for medical, nursing, paramedical, administrative, and support staff has been suspended, and employees already on sanctioned leave have been recalled with immediate effect. Stable or recovering patients are being discharged early to free up bed space, according to the report.

Echoes of November 2024 Crackdown

The mobilisation has drawn sharp criticism. According to the Drop Site News report, 'The instructions to hospitals show that the government is yet again preparing a brutal crackdown on protestors.' The report recalled that during a similar PTI demonstration in November 2024, Pakistani military personnel allegedly used live rounds and snipers against crowds gathered in the middle of the night, killing dozens of PTI supporters. A prior Drop Site investigation had found that the crackdown was pre-planned, and the military subsequently suppressed the full casualty count while journalists attempting to investigate were arrested.

This is not the first time pre-protest medical alerts of this nature have preceded large PTI mobilisations — the pattern, critics argue, signals anticipatory force rather than precaution.

Imran Khan's Family Detained

In a parallel development, police in Lahore have detained former Prime Minister Imran Khan's three sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi, and Uzma Khan — along with some of their children. According to the report, as many as eight members of Imran Khan's family were detained within a 24-hour window. While the children were released after a few hours, the three sisters remain in custody.

The detentions were made under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, after the Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC) issued 30-day detention orders on 20 September. A petition challenging these orders was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday by Shahraiz Khan, Aleema Khan's son, requesting the court to declare the detention orders null and void and order the immediate release of all three women, Pakistan-based daily The Express Tribune reported.

Shahraiz Khan alleged in the petition that Aleema Khan was arrested while travelling for personal work with her driver, Muhammad Ameer, with no public gathering or threat to public order in the vicinity. He described the detention order as illegal and unlawful.

Kasim Khan Condemns Arrests, Calls for International Action

Imran Khan's son, Kasim Khan, publicly condemned the detentions. In a post on X, he wrote: 'This is a disgrace. Now my Aunts Dr. Uzma and Noreen, along with my cousins Shershah and Shahrez have now been abducted as well. They have broken into my aunties and cousins houses and forced them into vehicles with no explanation. No reasons for arrest have been stated.'

He added: 'No news has been released as to where they have been taken. This is criminal behaviour. Inexcusable. The Pakistani people are petrified of their own leaders. No upstanding nation should tolerate this criminal establishment. Intervention is now imperative. The world MUST take action.'

Several other PTI leaders have also been arrested and nationwide raids conducted in what observers describe as a broad pre-protest crackdown. With the 27 September demonstration approaching, the situation remains fluid and the Lahore High Court petition is pending adjudication.