The state’s fear of one prisoner’s voice reveals the depth of Pakistan’s democratic decay.

A government and establishment united only in fear

The pre-dawn use of water cannons against Imran Khan’s sisters and peaceful PTI workers outside Adiala Jail was not just an act of force, it was an act of fear.
Fear of a meeting.
Fear of a message.
Fear of a leader they cannot control.

While the state’s spokespersons lecture the nation about “discipline” and “stability”, the real instability is on full display: a system so insecure that even drenched, unarmed women sitting on the road are treated like a threat to national power.

Court Orders Ignored, Citizens Humiliated and the State Calls This Governance?

Despite a clear court order permitting Tuesday and Thursday meetings, the establishment-backed jail administration once again blocked access — and then unleashed water cannons on the protesters who refused to leave.

This is not law enforcement.
This is not order.
This is intimidation.

The only “crime” of the protesters was insisting that the Constitution still matters.

When Aleema Khan told drenched supporters, “Kids, ghabrana nahi… it’s just water,” it was more than reassurance, it was a reminder that the people remain braver than the institutions that govern them.

Why Is the Establishment So Desperate to Silence One Prisoner?

The state’s refusal to let Imran Khan meet even his personal physician for 14 months is not administrative policy it is punitive politics.

Compare this to past treatment of powerful political families who enjoyed private doctors, special permissions, and medical facilities at the slightest request.
The double standard is glaring.

And when Uzma Khan conveyed her brother’s political message after a permitted meeting, the establishment responded not with counter-argument but with personal attacks, labeling a former prime minister “mentally ill”.

This is not strength.
This is insecurity wrapped in authority.

The More They Suppress, the More PTI Supporters Show Up

Despite threats, despite the cold, despite late-night police intimidation, PTI supporters continued to gather outside Adiala.
Their message was simple:

If the state breaks the law, we won’t leave the law — we’ll defend it.

Senior PTI leaders, Salman Akram Raja, Junaid Akbar, Shahid Khattak, and others stood firmly with the protest, calling out the establishment for violating basic rights.

One thing was clear:
The people’s patience with authoritarian tactics is wearing thin.

A State at War With Its Own Citizens

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar warned that “the gloves are off”.
But against whom?
Terrorists?
No.
Women sitting on a roadside.
Public representatives.
A man’s sisters trying to meet him under an existing court order.

When the state treats peaceful citizens as enemies, it tells the world exactly where democracy stands in Pakistan and who is responsible for suffocating it.

PTI Isn’t Losing Power; the Establishment Is Losing Legitimacy

The Adiala incident will not weaken PTI.
If anything, it has strengthened the party’s narrative: that the system is terrified of Imran Khan’s voice, and terrified of facing the Pakistani people on equal footing.

Water cannons cannot wash away constitutional rights.
Barricades cannot block public sentiment.
And force cannot manufacture legitimacy.

This struggle is no longer about one meeting or one prisoner.
It is about the soul of Pakistan’s democracy and the establishment’s increasing inability to control it.