Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Imran Khan is being mistreated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, his sister Aleema Khan claimed on Wednesday. Her remarks came as family members and PTI party supporters gathered in large numbers outside Adiala jail to protest the detention conditions and restricted access of Khan.
“We have been coming here for the last 8 months. We come here and sit every Tuesday. We are not allowed to meet Imran Khan. He is being tortured. He has been kept in illegal solitary confinement. They should stop this torture against Imran Khan,” Aleema said outside the jail.
Aleema Khan’s statements underscore the family’s growing concern over her brother’s physical isolation and treatment. The protests have attracted a number of PTI supporters, who have expressed serious concerns about Khan’s health and safety as he serves sentences following multiple convictions.
The family’s concerns grew after a rare, 20-minute meeting on December 2 when Khan’s other sister Uzma Khanumaccess was finally granted nearly a month after all communications were allegedly cut off. After the visit, Khanum said her brother appeared physically fine but faced “psychological torture” due to solitary confinement and restraints.
Crucially, Khanum went on to say that Imran Khan had personally accused Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, of orchestrating the “mental torture” he suffered in prison.
The Pakistani military quickly and vehemently denied the claims. The military strongly dismissed the former prime minister as mentally unstable and narcissistic, accusing him of spreading anti-military narratives through his family.
Soon after, the government took steps to bar Uzma Khanum and other family members from further visits, citing violations of prison rules, with officials suggesting political discussions took place during the meeting.
Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said: “There is no room in the (prison) rules for political discussions and it has been reported that political discussions have taken place, so meetings are now banned for Uzma Khan. That will not happen.”
Tension between the PTI and the government is rising
The demonstration outside the Adiala Jail was met with heavy security deployment, reflecting heightened tensions between PTI supporters and the ruling authorities.
The situation was exacerbated by the presence of senior PTI leaders, including Secretary General Salman Akram Raji and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Chief Junaid Akbar Khan, who joined the meeting. Their attendance signaled the party’s growing frustration after prison authorities rejected repeated attempts to meet Khan, despite a standing court order allowing visits on Tuesday and Thursday. Dawn news.
The restrictions and subsequent political fallout deepened the political crisis, and concerns about the treatment of the former prime minister in custody came to the forefront of the nation’s political discourse.
