• Allege PTI founder’s ‘isolation in prison’ part of ‘clear torture tactics’; he is ‘furious’ over the situation
• PM’s spokesperson says they’re ‘misled by disinformation’
• State minister warns family, party against ‘playing sympathy card’

ISLAMABAD: The sons of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, Kasim and Sulaiman, have stated that their father was being kept in isolation in jail, stating that these were “clear torture tactics”.

The two made the remarks in an interview with British journalist Mehdi Hasan for Zeteo.

As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked, Mr Khan’s family and party have expressed concerns about the conditions in which he was being kept inside the prison.

In the interview with Mr Hasan, the brothers were asked about the government’s claim of treating Mr Khan like a “prince” during his incarceration.

“Couldn’t be less true,” replied Mr Kasim. He said that Mr Khan was being held in a narrow cell that was “barely enough to stand”.

“The conditions are awful. He is washing himself in brown, murky water. And the food he has is — he is not the one to complain — but it’s apparently dreadful. To be a prince is far from it,” he said.

Mr Kasim also recalled the PTI founder’s recent meeting with his sister Uzma Khan, saying the former premier was “pretty furious from what we have heard”.

“He was just unhappy with the … complete isolation. They’re not even allowing guards to speak to him because they want total isolation from any other person just to try and break him,” he said. “So it’s all very clear torture tactics.”

In a separate clip posted on Zeteo’s Instagram account, the journalist asked the two if they were worried by Mr Khan’s “statements” against the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. Mr Hasan then read out the statements posted from Mr Khan’s X account.

“It does but that is his character,” Mr Sulaiman replied.

“Do you ever tell him to tone it down?” Mr Hasan asked. At this, Mr Kasim laughed and said: “No, he goes headfirst into danger historically, and we kind of accepted it at a young age that he was going to go into very dangerous situations.”

Allegations dismissed

Mosharraf Zaidi, the prime minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, in response to the interview, dismissed the claims made by Mr Khan’s sons on his alleged “isolation”. “He does not spend any time at all in a ‘cell’. As a prisoner whose security and well-being [are] a priority for the state, he has designated living quarters,” Mr Zaidi said in comments to Zeteo.

He claimed that Mr Khan’s children and supporters were being “misled by disinformation”.

‘Sympathy card’

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, while speaking to the media in Faisalabad on Saturday, dismissed the allegation that the former premier was being kept in isolation, warning his family and the party not to play the “sympathy card”.

“How could he [Mr Khan] be alone in a jail that has 1,200 inmates?” the minister asked, saying that the PTI founder had access to gym equipment, a personal cook, among other facilities.

“The whole area is operated as per his will,” he said. The minister said that Imran’s communication with his sons included phone calls “totalling over 14 hours”.

The minister cited a claim by Mr Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, that the former premier’s children were being denied visas and said he had asked for their tracking number.

“Till today, I have not received tracking numbers … we are very clear that anyone who wants to come to Pakistan, we will issue them visas within a few hours,” he said.

“If they have, give us the tracking number, and I assure you that they can come to Pakistan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025