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Imran Khan’s sons have accused the Pakistani government of using the Iran peace talks to divert away from the treatment of their father
The sons of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have accused the country’s government of using the Iran peace talks to burnish its international image, diverting attention from his “inhumane” treatment after almost 1,000 days in detention.
Kasim and Sulaiman Khan told ITV News their father called off protests during recent Iran peace talks in Islamabad to avoid a “bloodbath” disrupting negotiations, despite mounting concern over his condition – they say he has lost most of his vision in one eye after being denied proper medical care.
“Only as recently as during the peace talks in Islamabad, our father actually got to meet his lawyer, finally – the first time in months”, Sulaiman, his eldest son, revealed.
“He decided to call off a protest that his party were going to hold during the peace talks, because he cares ultimately about the image of his country – and for peace in the Middle East.
“He thought that that was more important than his own situation.”
Imran Khan decided against “causing chaos”, Kasim said. “The Pakistani army would come out in force and they’d open fire, they have in the past for a protest in Pakistan for his release.”
Imran Khan has been in jail for over a year. Credit: PA
Soldiers and police officers were accused of firing on civilians in November 2024, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries, when protestors marched to Islamabad demanding Khan’s release.
“They’ve done it multiple times in the past and they’re a very powerful army who won’t roll over unless for anything, [except] maybe the superpowers, or global superpowers like America who, what they’ve done instead, is opted to become a puppet government that essentially offered Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, crypto currencies, natural minerals, absolutely anything they can to claw their way into his good books.”
Sulaiman agreed: “I think the Pakistani regime are doing their best to clean up their image on the international stage.
“It does seem like it’s working at the moment. They presented themselves as kind of peace brokers.”
Imran Khan, the former World Cup-winning cricket captain of Pakistan, turned politician, was imprisoned in August 2023 and has faced 100 charges. He is being detained in solitary confinement.
Khan denies all charges against him, claiming they are politically motivated. He is made to spend up to 23 hours a day in his prison cell, his family say, and is granted only occasional phone calls with family members.
For his sons in London, those calls have fallen silent.
The last time they heard his voice was four weeks ago, on a Saturday morning just after Eid, when an unexpected call came through from an unknown Pakistani number.
“Kasim picked it up and quickly got me to get to the phone,” said Sulaiman.
“He spoke to someone who said, ‘Your father’s on the line – can you be on the phone in the next 10 minutes?’ And luckily, he got me in time and we both managed to get on the phone with our father.”
“But it’s all so slapdash, the whole process”, Kasim added. “If we don’t get it right, which has happened in the past, we don’t get to speak to him – and then it’s another three, four months.”
During the twenty-minute conversation with his sons, Khan shared updates about his health.
“This time, he was definitely the most frustrated out of some of the times we’ve spoken to him”, Kasim said, describing his father’s mood on the call, “it was a lot to do with the situation with his eye”.
“They’re just doing the very bare minimum with the treatment of his eye because they’re not taking him to a doctor, to a hospital.”
Sulaiman added, “he said he’s lost about 80, 85% vision in his right eye and he doesn’t think that it will ever get back to normal”.
Reports of his deteriorating health echo those of his wife’s condition.
Bushra Bibi, also jailed on corruption charges she denies, was taken to hospital this week after reporting impaired vision — raising concerns she too is losing her sight.
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Her supporters say her health has “deteriorated significantly”. She was swiftly returned to her cell, according to supporters — part of what they call a campaign to “push Imran Khan to the edge”.
“What is perhaps most disturbing is that, even with stitches in her eye, she was not allowed to remain in the hospital for even a couple of days after surgery, despite being in immense pain… a basic right for any patient”, said Zulfi Bukhari, a senior advisor to Mr Khan who is accompanying the brothers on their campaign to raise awareness of their father’s case.
And speaking of his father’s conditions in detention, Sulaiman Khan told ITV News: “He’s not allowed any books in prison”.
A small concession, recently secured by his lawyers and described by Kasim as a “win”, was access to a daily newspaper, delivered to his cramped cell – a thin connection to the outside world.
“I think it was about random celebrity obituaries and things like that, which isn’t exactly his usual reading material, but he said it’s better than nothing.”
Last month, the brothers called on the United Nations to intervene to end what they and other experts believe is the “arbitrary detention” and “torture” of their father.
“We’ve gone from pushing for him to be released, for pushing for him to get a free and fair trial to now – just hoping that he gets the bare necessities.
“It’s frustrating for us to have to relegate our ambitions, but at this point we’re quite desperate.”
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