The sons of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have expressed deep concern that authorities may be hiding “something irreversible” about his condition after more than three weeks with no verifiable evidence that he is still alive.
Speaking to Reuters, Imran’s son Kasim Khan said the family has had no direct or verifiable contact with him, despite a court order mandating weekly prison visits. “Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” he said. “Today, we have no verifiable information at all about his condition. Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us”.
The family has repeatedly sought access for Imran’s personal physician, who has been barred from examining him for over a year, Kasim added. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. A jail official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Imran was in good health and that he was unaware of any plans to move him to a higher-security facility.
Imran, 72, has been in prison since August 2023, convicted in multiple cases he claims were politically motivated following his removal from office in a 2022 parliamentary vote. His first conviction involved accusations of unlawfully selling gifts received in office. Subsequent verdicts added lengthy sentences, including 10 years for leaking a diplomatic cable and 14 years in a graft case related to the Al Qadir trust
charity project prosecutors say involved improper land deals.
Imran’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has maintained that the prosecutions are aimed at excluding him from public life and elections.
Kasim recalled the last time he saw his father in November 2022 after an assassination attempt. “That image has stayed with me ever since. Seeing our father in that state is something you don’t forget,” he said.
He further added, “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 pursuing domestic and international avenues, including appeals to human rights organisations, and is demanding that court-ordered visits be restored immediately. “This is not just a political dispute,” Kasim 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”.
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