KARACHI: Kasim Khan, son of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, raised concerns over his father’s detention before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday, alleging violations of international human rights conventions.

Addressing the UNHRC, Kasim said his father’s case was not an “isolated incident”, but “the most visible example of a much wider pattern of repression in Pakistan since 2022”.

In this connection, he mentioned the detention of political prisoners, trial and conviction of civilians by military courts and journalists being “silenced, abducted or driven into exile”.

He also briefly mentioned the February 2024 general elections, reiterating the PTI’s contention that they were rigged.

Kasim noted that Pakistan had made binding commitments under the GSP+ framework to uphold international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture.

He claimed that his father’s detention was arbitrary and that he was being kept in solitary confinement. Kasim further mentioned that there was a bar on his family visiting him and also alleged the “denial of medical care” to him. This, along with the trial of civilians in military courts, violated those treaty obligations, he said.

Ending his short address, he said, “My brother and I are not political people. We never wanted to come before bodies like this. [But] my father’s life demands that we take action.

“We cannot stand by as his health deteriorates and he is kept away from us. If the situation were reversed, we know he would not stop fighting until we were free. That is the very least we can do for him.”

On Sunday, Kasim also shared a message by Imran Khan on the social media platform X. The message came after Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that the former premier would be allowed to speak to his children on Eidul Fitr. Kasim said he had spoken to his father on Saturday, who had then asked for a message to be relayed. In the message shared by Kasim, the former PM was critical of the judiciary.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2026