By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The information minister said on Wednesday that the two sons of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan are welcome to visit their father without visas by using their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis, responding directly to a public appeal from Khan’s ex-wife that highlighted months-long delays and the politician’s deteriorating health.
Attaullah Tarar posted the offer on X in reply to Jemima Goldsmith, who on Monday urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to intervene after her sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, waited 60 days for visas they had applied for in January. Normal processing, according to the Pakistani consulate, takes seven to 10 working days. “His children are welcome to visit Pakistan on their Nicop cards as Pakistani citizens for which no visa is required,” Tarar wrote. “However, they will fully comply with the laws of Pakistan during their stay.” Tarar said a phone call between Khan and his sons would be arranged on Eid, as had been done previously.
The sons, who live in London with their mother, have not seen Khan since 2022, shortly after he survived an assassination attempt. They have also been barred from speaking to him by telephone or sending letters, Goldsmith said in her appeal.“Meanwhile, they are not allowed to speak to him on the phone, nor send him a letter,” she wrote. “This is an appeal directly to Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz to please allow Imran Khan’s two sons to see their father asap, particularly since, by all accounts, his health is in decline.”
Goldsmith noted that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and the prime minister’s foreign-media spokesperson, Mosharraf Zaidi, had publicly assured the family that the sons could travel safely. Kasim Khan had previously accused the government of deliberately blocking the applications. The family first signaled plans for a January visit in December 2025; reports of refusal surfaced last month.
In August 2025, Khan’s sister Aleema had publicly clarified that the sons had also applied for Nicop renewal after a junior interior minister questioned why they would need visas at all if they held the cards.
The response from Khan’s party was swift and sharp. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the “deliberate delaying tactic” as political victimization of a former prime minister and a violation of basic family rights. “The details that were shared by Jemima are not only deeply concerning, but also evidence that the government has failed to uphold basic human values and family rights,” the party said. It noted that the sons had applied for Nicop renewal “some time ago, yet no decision or response has been given so far,” calling the silence further proof of “bad faith.” “Sacrificing family relationships for political revenge is not only immoral, but also an open violation of human rights, which cannot be accepted under any circumstances.”
The appeal coincided with fresh medical developments inside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan is held. A newly constituted five-member medical board completed a two-hour examination of the former prime minister on Wednesday, following orders from the Islamabad High Court. The board — including ENT specialist Prof. Altaf Hussain, cardiologist Prof. Akhtar Ali Bandesha, Dr. Muhammad Ali Arif and Prof. Nadeem Qureshi of Al-Shifa Eye Hospital — was formed by the Islamabad chief commissioner after the court rejected a petition to transfer Khan to a private facility.
A report submitted to the Supreme Court by Khan’s lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Salman Safdar, last month stated that Khan has been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion, a serious condition in which the main vein draining blood from the retina becomes blocked. The ailment is often linked to cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.
The jail administration confirmed that the team conducted a “thorough” assessment of the affected eye. The board is expected to submit its full recommendations to the chief commissioner shortly. Under prison rules, the commissioner will then decide whether Khan requires treatment outside the facility.
Last week the high court, in a three-page order by Justices Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Khadim Hussain Soomro, directed the board to act quickly while reaffirming that prison authorities must keep Khan’s family informed of any serious medical condition. The court emphasized that family members and lawyers must continue to have access, as previously ordered by a larger bench.
Khan has already been taken under tight security to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad twice this year for eye treatment. His most recent visit was Feb. 24 for a follow-up; he is scheduled to receive a third injection on March 23.
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