The family of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan says it fears that authorities may be concealing a serious or “irreversible” development about his health, after more than three weeks without any verifiable proof that he is alive or safe inside prison.
Kasim Khan, Imran’s son, told Reuters that despite a court order allowing weekly meetings, the family has been denied all confirmed contact. “Not knowing if your father is safe, injured, or even alive is psychological torture,” he said. “We have no credible information about his condition, and that is our biggest fear.”
The family has also repeatedly requested access for Imran’s personal doctor, who has been barred from examining him for over a year. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry did not issue any comment on the matter. A jail official, speaking anonymously, claimed Imran was “in good health” and said he knew of no plan to shift the former prime minister to a higher-security facility.
Imran Khan, 72, has been imprisoned since August 2023 after a series of convictions that he calls politically motivated. His legal troubles intensified after his 2022 ouster through a parliamentary vote. Cases against him include the Toshakhana reference, a 10-year sentence over an allegedly leaked diplomatic cable, and a 14-year verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case, which prosecutors link to disputed land deals.
PTI, his party, maintains that the charges are carefully designed to remove him from politics and prevent him from contesting elections.
Family Anxiety Grows as Silence Deepens
Kasim said the family’s fears have grown because no direct communication has been allowed and because Imran has almost disappeared from public view. Local TV channels reportedly face instructions not to show his name or image, and only one blurred court photograph from last year remains online.
“This isolation is deliberate,” Kasim claimed. “They know he is the most popular leader in Pakistan, and they cannot defeat him through fair political competition.”
Kasim and his brother Suleiman, who live in London with their mother, Jemima Goldsmith, have stayed away from Pakistan’s political scene. Kasim recalled the last time he saw his father in November 2022 after he survived an assassination attempt. “That image never left my mind. After weeks of silence and no proof of life, that memory feels heavier now.”
The family says it is now reaching out to human rights bodies both inside Pakistan and abroad. They are demanding immediate implementation of court ordered visits. “This is beyond politics,” Kasim added. “This is a human rights emergency. We draw strength from our father, but we need to know he is safe.”
