Former Pakistan prime minister and World Cup–winning captain Imran Khan has been in jail for over two years. In recent days, rumours about his health, and even claims that he may have died, have spread widely on social media. His family says they are worried because they have not been allowed to meet him for weeks.The anxiety deepened on Friday when Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan publicly demanded that the government prove the 73-year-old PTI founder is alive.
“We demand proof of Imran Khan’s life,” Kasim said in a social media post.For nearly a month, no family member, lawyer or party aide has been allowed to see the former cricketer-turned-politician, fuelling speculation that he may have been harmed inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where he has been incarcerated for over two years.
What the rules say about ‘political prisoner’ access
According to Dawn, while the government maintains that Imran Khan is being given all “possible facilities”, a senior cabinet member on Friday claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi was trying to meet Khan in violation of the jail manual.Information minister Atta Tarar’s remarks triggered a sharp response from the PTI, which insists its court-approved visiting schedule — Tuesdays and Thursdays — is not being honoured.This raises a critical question: what does the jail manual actually say?Dawn reports that visitation and phone calls are tied to a prisoner’s “good behaviour”, giving the jail superintendent wide discretion.As the newspaper notes: “Visitation, phone calls allowed to prisoners are linked to their ‘good behaviour’, meaning the jail superintendent has the discretion to allow or disallow meetings.”Current and former prison officials told Dawn that prisoners in Punjab, including political detainees, are allowed:
- Meetings with five people per week, including lawyers and relatives
- 30 minutes of phone time weekly
Even condemned prisoners can meet family and lawyers once a week and get the same phone allowance via public call offices inside Adiala Jail.Political prisoners, Dawn adds, are placed in special cells under strict security, with daily medical check-ups mandated to ensure they are healthy.
Rules that are ‘subjective’
But these rules are not absolute. Their implementation depends heavily on the inmate’s behaviour, making the process “necessarily subjective”, according to Dawn.Serious charges — including terrorism or anti-state activities — can also restrict access.A retired senior prison department officer told Dawn that access to lawyers or relatives ultimately rests with the jail superintendent, who can block meetings or calls if an inmate’s behaviour is deemed “not good”.
Family’s repeated requests denied
Despite court orders and repeated attempts, Imran Khan’s three sisters, PTI members and CM Sohail Afridi have been camping outside Adiala Jail for days, demanding a meeting with him.Kasim Khan said the family has been kept completely in the dark: “My father has been under arrest for 845 days. For the past six weeks, he has been kept in solitary confinement in a death cell with zero transparency. His sisters have been denied every visit, even with clear court orders allowing access. There have been no phone calls, no meetings and no proof of life. Me and my brother have had no contact with our father.”Calling the situation “deliberate”, he added: “This absolute blackout is not a security protocol. Rather it is a deliberate attempt to hide my father’s condition and prevent our family from knowing whether he is safe… the Pakistani government and its handlers will be held fully accountable legally, morally and internationally for my father’s safety.”He also appealed to international organisations and human rights groups to intervene urgently.“We demand proof of his life, enforce court ordered access, end this inhumane isolation and call for the release of Pakistan’s most popular political leader who is being held solely for political reasons,” Kasim said.
