Imran Khan’s sister under investigation in Pakistan over comments on India-Pakistan hostilities

New Delhi: Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency has summoned former prime minister Imran Khan’s sister, Noreen Niazi, to appear before investigators on Monday after her remarks on the May 2025 India-Pakistan military confrontation triggered widespread political controversy. The agency has asked her to appear at its Islamabad office at 12 noon to record her statement, warning that failure to do so could be treated as a decision not to present a defence.

According to the Express Tribune, the investigation agency has accused Niazi of circulating “false, offensive and inflammatory” content on social media that allegedly defamed state institutions and promoted misleading narratives.

Why is Noreen Niazi’s interview creating controversy in Pakistan?

The controversy was triggered by an interview in which Niazi challenged Pakistan’s official version of the four-day military conflict with India in May 2025. The confrontation followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with India launching Operation Sindoor against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before both sides halted military operations on May 10. Niazi described the episode as a “staged drama” and questioned Pakistan’s narrative of how the conflict unfolded.

During the interview, she argued that if prime minister Narendra Modi had intended to inflict serious military damage on Pakistan, he possessed the capability to do so. Calling Modi “a superpower himself” and claiming he had the backing of Russia, Niazi said, “Modi could have fixed them in two minutes if he had wanted to. Why did Modi stop? What was he afraid of? India is such a large country. Look at that country and then look at yourselves.” She used these remarks to question why the conflict did not escalate further.

Niazi further alleged that undisclosed understandings between Pakistan’s military leadership and India prevented the conflict from escalating further. Without offering evidence, she claimed that Israel was influencing developments in the region and suggested that Pakistan was being prepared to join countries that had normalised ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

She also questioned why India halted military operations despite, according to her, having the capacity to continue. Her comments quickly spread across Pakistani social media, drawing criticism from government figures and supporters of the military establishment, while also fuelling fresh political debate over the country’s handling of the conflict.

Imran Khan’s relationship with Pakistan’s military

The latest controversy comes amid a long-running confrontation between Khan and Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. Once widely seen as having the backing of the armed forces in his rise to power, Khan’s relations with the military soured before he was ousted via a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, and he has since repeatedly accused elements of the military and political leadership of orchestrating his removal and bringing politically motivated cases against him.

Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, is facing a slew of legal cases ranging from corruption charges to violations of Pakistan’s Official Secrets Act and anti-terror provisions. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has repeatedly said that state institutions have targeted its leadership and workers. The Pakistani military and government have denied the charges.

Noreen Niazi has been among Khan’s most vocal family members, frequently defending him in public appearances and criticising the country’s political and security establishment.