Jailed since August 2023, former PM faces politically motivated cases after 2022 overthrow
A supporter of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party holds a mobile phone with a photo of Khan during a protest over concerns about their leader’s health in Karachi, Pakistan November 28, 2025. REUTERS
The children 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 without 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 requiring weekly prison visits. “Not knowing if your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” he said. “Today we do not have any verifiable information about his condition. Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us.”
Read: Authorities allay fears over Imran’s health
The family has repeatedly requested access to Imran’s personal doctor, who has been banned from examining him for more than a year, Kasim added. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. A jail official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Imran was in good health and was not aware of any plans to move him to a higher security facility.
Imran, 72, has been in prison since August 2023, convicted in multiple cases that he claims were politically motivated following his removal from office in a 2022 parliamentary vote. His first conviction, known as the Toshakhana case, involved allegations of illegally selling gifts received in office. Subsequent verdicts added long sentences, including 10 years for leaking a diplomatic cable and 14 years in a corruption case involving the Al-Qadir Trust, a charity project that prosecutors said involved improper land transactions.
Imran’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has maintained that the prosecutions are aimed at excluding him from public life and elections.
Family anxiety deepens due to lack of information
The family says the lack of communication has intensified fears of a deliberate attempt to remove Imran from public view. Television channels have reportedly been instructed not to show Imran’s name or image, leaving only a grainy photograph of the court from his imprisonment online.
“This isolation is intentional,” Kasim said. “They are afraid of him. He is the most popular leader in Pakistan and they know they cannot defeat him democratically.” Kasim and his older brother, Suleiman Isa Khan, who live in London with their mother, Jemima Goldsmith, have largely stayed away from Pakistan’s dynastic politics.
Read more: PTI to organize protest in front of Adiala jail
Kasim remembered 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 in time. Now, after weeks of total silence and no evidence of life, that memory carries a different weight.”
The family is using national and international avenues, including appeals to human rights organizations, 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. The pressure must come from all directions. We draw strength from him, but we need to know that he is safe.”
