The sons of Imran Khan have accused Pakistan’s powerful army chief of a “personal vendetta” against the incarcerated former prime minister and expressed fears their father is being “slowly killed” in jail, as international pressure mounts over his prison conditions.
Kasim Khan, 27, and Sulaiman Khan, 29, have become strong advocates for the release of their father, who has been held in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi since his arrest in 2023, and is serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges.
They have not been allowed to speak to Khan for more than six months and have been prevented from travelling from the UK to Pakistan to lobby for his release.
On Wednesday, the supreme court will rule on a case alleging the Pakistan government has been in contempt of court by denying Khan private hospital treatment for a worsening eye condition and preventing family from visiting him or speaking with him in jail for more than six months, in violation of a court order. Khan is being held in solitary confinement, in a cell alleged to be 6ft by 8ft.
Later this month, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – the political party Khan founded in 1996, four years after retiring from international cricket – is planning a nationwide march demanding his release.
Speaking to the Guardian from London, Khan’s sons – from his first marriage to Jemima Goldsmith – said they were “deeply, deeply concerned” about their father’s health, and that the conditions he was being kept in amounted to “a form of mental and physical torture”.
“The reality is that he is locked in a tiny 6x8ft cell without human contact,” said Sulaiman. “He hasn’t been allowed new books for months and he’s not been allowed to see or speak to his family or a neutral doctor. He has an eye condition which was neglected for months and has meant he’s probably almost lost sight in one eye.”
Late last month, Sky Sports aired an interview with Khasim and Sulaiman during its coverage of a test match between England and Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board, which has close links to the government and whose chair is also the interior minister, made a formal complaint to Sky Sports after the broadcast and the Pakistani team threatened to refuse to return to the field after the lunch break.
“It shows how out of touch they are with the rest of the world, that they thought they could silence media like they do at home,” Sulaiman said of the complaint. “It just exposed them for the authoritarian regime that they are.”
The UN has said Khan’s prolonged detention violates international law and the UN’s special rapporteur on torture said his solitary confinement and detention conditions could amount to psychological torture.
Sulaiman said the family had been told their father, 73, had also been diagnosed with high blood pressure. “More than anything, we just want to speak to him and make sure he’s OK,” he said.
Khan’s sons said they were particularly concerned that the “cruel” treatment was being driven by a “personal grudge” by Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of defence forces and army chief. (The Guardian)