Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s son has demanded the government to present proof that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder is alive.
“We demand proof of Imran Khan’s life,” Khan’s son Kasim Khan said in a social media post on Friday evening.
There has been speculation that the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been killed in prison since neither of his family members nor his lawyers and party men have been allowed to see him for a month.
He has been languishing in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for over two years in multiple cases.
Khan’s three sisters, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi have been camping outside the Adiala Jail for the last few days pressurising the Shehbaz Sharif government to allow his family members to meet him.
“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,” Kasim said.
Lambasting the government, Kasim further said that “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. Let it be clear — the Pakistani government and its handlers will be held fully accountable legally, morally and internationally for my father’s safety and for every consequence of this inhumane isolation,” he said.
He also called on the international community, global human rights organisations and every democratic voice 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,” Khan’s son said.
Kasim reposted a post that claims that Khan has lost significant weight, has vision issues, and there’s growing paranoia over slow poisoning.
Khan’s party has warned the authorities of countrywide protests if the government does not allow his sisters to see him.
His sisters have also warned that if anything happens to Khan those involved in it and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad.
Khan’s sister on Friday filed a contempt of court petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the Adiala Jail superintendent and others for not being allowed to meet Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister.
Aleema Khan filed the petition in the presence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and other leaders of PTI.
The petition referred to the IHC’s March 24 order, in which the court had reinstated the twice-a-week meeting schedule for Khan.