Imran Khan’s sons say they are increasingly terrified about their father’s wellbeing, accusing Pakistani authorities of concealing critical information after more than three weeks without any evidence that the jailed former prime minister is still alive. Kasim Khan told Reuters that despite a court order allowing weekly prison visits, the family has had no direct or independently verified contact with Imran Khan for months.
“Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured, or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” Kasim said, adding that repeated requests for access — including for Khan’s personal physician, who has not been allowed to examine him in over a year — have been blocked. The family fears that “something irreversible” may already have happened.
The interior ministry has not commented, and a jail official, speaking anonymously, claimed Khan is in good health with no plans for transfer to a higher-security facility. But the lack of transparency has deepened family anxiety and fuelled speculation across Pakistan.
Khan, 72, has been imprisoned since August 2023 following a series of convictions he maintains were politically motivated. The former leader was first found guilty in the Toshakhana case, accused of illegally selling state gifts. Subsequent verdicts added heavy prison terms: 10 years for allegedly leaking a diplomatic cable and 14 years in the Al-Qadir Trust graft case involving land deals. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), says these prosecutions aim to bar him from politics and eliminate him from democratic contention.
Kasim says the family believes his father’s isolation is deliberate. “They are scared of him. He is Pakistan’s most popular leader, and they know they cannot defeat him democratically,” he said. He and his brother, Suleiman, who live in London with their mother, Jemima Goldsmith, have rarely spoken publicly about Pakistan’s political turmoil — but say the silence surrounding their father has become unbearable.
Their last meeting with Khan was in November 2022, shortly after he survived an assassination attempt. That memory now haunts them. “Seeing our father in that state is something you don’t forget,” Kasim said. “After weeks of total silence and no proof of life, that memory carries a different weight.”
The family is appealing to international human rights organisations and demanding that court-ordered visitation rights be restored immediately.
“This is not just a political dispute,” Kasim said. “It is a human-rights emergency. We need to know he is safe.”