By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The son of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister, said on Monday that he feared the authorities were hiding “something irreversible” about his father’s well-being, amid weeks of blocked family visits and swirling rumors of a possible transfer to a more secure facility.
Kasim Khan, speaking to Reuters in written remarks, described the lack of contact as “a form of psychological torture” for the family, which has been denied access to Khan despite a court order mandating weekly meetings. Protests by supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his sisters have intensified outside Adiala jail, where he has been held for more than two years.
“Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” Kasim Khan said. He added that there had been no independently confirmed communication with Khan for a couple of months, and that the family had “no verifiable information at all about his condition.” “Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us,” he added.
The family’s anxiety has deepened as officials have repeatedly denied requests for Khan’s personal physician to examine him, a step that has not been permitted for more than a year, according to Kasim Khan.
A jail official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Khan was in good health and that he was unaware of any plans to move the former leader to a higher-security prison. Khan, 72, has been incarcerated since August 2023, following convictions in a series of cases that he and his supporters contend are politically motivated, aimed at sidelining him after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in 2022.
His first conviction came in the Toshakhana case, involving allegations that he unlawfully sold state gifts received during his tenure. Subsequent verdicts included a 10-year sentence in the cipher case, related to the handling of a classified diplomatic cable, and 14 years in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case. The PTI has charged that the prosecutions were designed to bar Khan from public life and the 2024 elections, in which the party performed strongly despite his absence.
Family members say the prolonged isolation appears deliberate, fueling suspicions of an effort to erase Khan from the political landscape. “This isolation is intentional,” Kasim Khan said, pointing to authorities he believes are intent on keeping his father cut off. “They are scared of him. He is Pakistan’s most popular leader, and they know they cannot defeat him democratically.”
Kasim Khan and his older brother, Suleiman Isa Khan, reside in London with their mother, Jemima Goldsmith, Khan’s ex-wife, and have largely steered clear of Pakistan’s turbulent politics. They have spoken publicly about their father’s imprisonment only on rare occasions. The brothers last saw Khan in November 2022, during a visit to Pakistan shortly after he survived an assassination attempt. “That image has stayed with me ever since. Seeing our father in that state is something you don’t forget,” Kasim Khan said. “We were told he would recover with time. Now, after weeks of total silence and no proof of life, that memory carries a different weight.”
The family is exploring both domestic and international options to secure access, including appeals to human rights organisations, and is demanding the immediate restoration of court-ordered visits. “This is not just a political dispute,” Kasim Khan said. “It is a human rights emergency. Pressure must come from every direction. We draw strength from him, but we need to know he is safe.”
Goldsmith, responding to an interview between the journalist Mehdi Hasan of Zeteo and Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, in which Asif suggested that Khan’s sons could meet their father, said on social media that “they’re not even allowed to speak to him on the phone. No one is.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent watchdog, voiced concern over the restrictions on Khan’s meetings with family, lawyers and associates. “Allegations indicating that he has been unable to meet close relatives, associates or legal counsel warrant urgent clarification, as regular and unhindered access to immediate family and counsel is a fundamental safeguard against isolation and misuse of detention powers,” the commission wrote in a statement posted on X. The commission urged the federal government and the Punjab Home Department to ensure that all practices align with constitutional protections and international standards for humane treatment.
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