The family of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has sought a meeting with the jailed politician, expressing concern about Khan’s health after being denied access to him for several weeks.
“We are deeply concerned about the well-being, legal rights and humane treatment of our brother during his captivity, and the authorities willfully disregarding the March 24 order of the Islamabad High Court. [2025] “Order that visitation be restored,” Khan’s sister, Alima Khan, told DW in a phone call on Monday.
“The family and legal team last met Imran Khan on October 16, his last day [Khan’s wife] Bushra Bibi’s jail case,” Alima Khan said.
He also said that the politician’s other sister, Uzma Khan, was allowed to meet the ousted leader twice for about 20 minutes on October 28 and November 4 “only because we had protested and staged a sit-in outside Adiala jail.”
‘Khan will never compromise’
Imran Khan served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed from office by a parliamentary vote. He has been in jail since August 2023 and is currently serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges.
Khan, who still enjoys strong support among large sections of the Pakistani public, claims that the cases against him are politically motivated and that the military is conspiring against him to prevent his participation in politics. The army has rejected these claims.
His continued detention remains a sore spot for the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Imran Khan will never compromise with this government. After suffering two and a half years of imprisonment in 8×10 [feet] After living in harsh conditions, he is now advocating for the rule of law, an end to human rights abuses and free and fair elections,” Alima Khan said.
“His commitment to democracy is unwavering,” he said.
New protests are coming this week
Recently, Khan’s family and party members had protested outside the jail in Rawalpindi demanding to meet him. A party delegation attempted to meet Khan last week, but once again, officials refused to let them through.
His family says the ousted leader is being held in solitary confinement under harsh conditions.
Alima Khan said, “We have planned to visit Adiala jail on Tuesday, because we are wary of trusting anyone with regard to his health and well-being. They will think twice about harming Khan because they will have to face serious consequences. People will not forgive them.”
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party spokesman Syed Zulfikar Bukhari echoed the sentiment expressed by Khan’s family.
“The whole country is asking, ‘Where is Imran Khan?’ As the most popular leader, both the public and his family have the right to know his whereabouts and well-being.”
According to Bukhari, Khan’s prolonged isolation shows that the current government is afraid of him.
“If Khan had not been so popular he would have been out of jail,” he told DW, calling the government’s actions “really shameful.”
“Unfortunately, they fail to understand that in all this they are only hurting Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistani government condemns ‘political stunt’ involving Khan
Although prison rules allow Khan to meet outsiders at least once a week, authorities have the power to suspend these visits. Khan’s party has now noted several extended periods during which he was not allowed any outside contact.
The controversy has gained momentum on social media, with the hashtag #WHEREISIMRANKHAN trending on Instagram. Khan’s two sisters, Alima Khan and Noreen Niazi, expressed concern over online rumors claiming that Khan died in prison.
Separately, some reports indicated that the 73-year-old could be transferred to a high-security prison, making future visits even more complicated, but the Pakistani Interior Ministry has denied those claims.
The government dismissed any concerns about Khan’s health and accused his PTI party of “exploiting Khan’s situation as a political maneuver”.
“I urge PTI supporters to focus on praying for them instead of spreading false rumours,” senior Pakistan Interior Ministry official Talal Chaudhry told DW.
He said, “Many rumors have surfaced in the past about his health and well-being. Claims of his illness or worse have been circulated, but these are mere political stunts; Khan is actually in good health.”
Putting pressure on Khan for a deal?
Some analysts suspect that officials are trying to force Khan into some kind of political agreement to resolve the impasse between him and the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The government is trying to employ pressure tactics in the hope that separating Khan from his family will force him to agree to a new arrangement he would not otherwise accept — such as being under house arrest or being sent into exile abroad while agreeing to remain silent,” Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst, told DW.
According to Kugelman, another option is that the refusal to visit is the latest stage in a bitter and ugly confrontation between Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership and Khan.
At the same time, Kugelman says that “from a political and internal stability perspective, Islamabad broadly has a strong interest in ensuring that Khan remains safe and healthy in prison.”
Khan’s sister Alima says the Pakistani government “had assumed that Imran Khan would not be able to withstand the harsh prison conditions and would seek a compromise to secure his release. However, he demonstrated his commitment by choosing to go to prison on August 4, 2023, even after being offered safe passage before his arrest,” Alima Khan told DW.
“There will be no talks regarding his release,” he said.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic