KARACHI: In a rare public appearance, former prime minister Imran Khan’s sons Suleman and Qasim have called attention to their father’s incarceration, Dawn.com reported.

Mr Khan, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in the 190 million pound corruption case. He is also facing trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to May 9, 2023, protests.

The interview by X influencer Mario Nawfal was the first time Suleman, 28, and Qasim, 26, have spoken about their father’s incarceration.

They said a court in Pakistan ordered the authorities to allow Mr Khan to have weekly calls with his sons in November 2023. But these talks “have not always been facilitated,” the brothers said.

The brothers claimed the phone calls were scheduled at odd times with limited duration. The calls were arranged “only once every two or three months”.

They said they decided to speak publicly since it was the “only route of taking action”.

“We’ve gone through the legal routes. We’ve gone through every route that we thought would potentially get him out. We never thought he would be in there a fraction of how long he’s been in there. And it’s only getting worse.”

“[W]e’ve somewhat run out of those options,” they lamented.

“What we want is international pressure on Pakis­tan right now, because currently he’s living in inhumane conditions,” they said, while talking about their father’s incarceration.

The authorities in Pakistan “are not giving him basic human rights”.

While talking about his father’s legal battle, Suleman said: “We’ve exhausted other options [and] legal avenues and it’s gone very quiet. It seems, in the international media, it seems to have gone very quiet.”

Questioned about the calls by US official Richard Grenell for his father’s release, Suleman said the two had not had any contact with him till date but were grateful for “all the support he’s shown”.

Regarding a message the brothers had for the Trump administration on the topic, Suleman said: “We’d call for any government that supports free speech and proper democracy to join the call for our father’s release.”

Qasim said he wanted the international community to “look at what’s going and hopefully take action and who better than Trump to gain the attention of.”

“We’d love to speak to Trump or try and figure out a way where he would be able to help out in some way. Because, at the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is free our father, bring democracy in Pakistan and just ensure his basic human rights.”

The brothers also said they did not want to participate in politics, adding that they had taken permission from their father before speaking out.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025