Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the children of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan were “welcome” to visit Pakistan on their National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop).

He made the remarks on X, in response to a post by Imran’s former spouse, Jemima Goldsmith, who had appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the delay in issuing visas to his sons, Kasim and Sulaiman.

“Imran Khan’s phone call will be arranged on Eid day with his children as done in the past as well,” the information minister said.

“His children are welcome to visit Pakistan on their Nicop cards as Pakistani citizens for which no visa is required. However, they will fully comply with the laws of Pakistan during their stay,” he said.

Kasim and his older brother Suleiman live in London with their mother and will have to travel to Pakistan to meet Imran, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.

In her appeal to PM Shehbaz on Monday, Jemima had stated, “My sons Sulaiman and Kasim Khan applied for visas in January (again… ) to allow them to visit their father, Imran Khan, in Pakistan. The Pakistan consulate states that online visa processing normally takes 7–10 working days. It has now been 60 days.”

She said the delay in the issuance of visas was despite Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly “promising that they (Kasim and Suleiman) could safely travel there to see their father after four years”. She added that PM’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, had made a similar commitment.

“Meanwhile, they (Kasim and Suleiman) are not allowed to speak to him (Imran) on the phone, nor send him a letter. They haven’t seen him since 2022, after he was shot in an assassination attempt.

“This is an appeal directly to Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz to please allow Imran Khan’s two sons to see their father asap, particularly since, by all accounts, his health is in decline,” Jemima appealed.

Last month, Kasim had alleged that the government was “deliberately” refusing to process his and his brother’s visas.

Kasim and Suleiman had said in December 2025 that the two had applied for their visas and were planning a trip to Pakistan in January. However, reports emerged last month, alleging that the government was refusing to grant Imran’s sons visas.

In August 2025, Imran’s sister Aleema had also clarified that Imran’s sons had applied for Nicops as well as visas to visit Pakistan after Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry had questioned why they would need visas if they had the Nicop.

PTI reacts to minister’s statement

Meanwhile, the PTI strongly condemned the government’s refusal to allow Imran’s sons to meet their father and the extraordinary delay in the issuance of their visas.

In a statement, the PTI said the details that were shared by Jemima were “not only deeply concerning, but also evidence that the government has failed to uphold basic human values and family rights”.

The statement referred to the duration for issuing the visa mentioned by Jemima and said the “deliberate delaying tactic was aimed at political victimisation”.

“Such treatment is being meted out to a man who has served as the country’s former prime minister,” the statement said.

It also regretted that Imran’s sons were not being allowed to contact their father, saying that such measures were against the principles of any civilised society.

The statement also referred to Tarrar’s statement, saying Imran’s sons had “applied for the renewal of their Nicops some time ago, yet no decision or response has been given so far”.

“This silence and delay itself expose the government’s bad faith,” it added.

The party urged the government to allow the former premier’s sons to meet their father, “especially in a situation where concerns are being raised about his health”.

The party noted that “sacrificing family relationships for political revenge is not only immoral, but also an open violation of human rights, which cannot be accepted under any circumstances”.