Imran Khan | Pakistan

United Nations’ special rapporteur warned on Friday that PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment. In September, his legal team approached the rapporteur to urge the Pakistani government to cease the alleged mistreatment of the couple. Prime Minister’s Aide Rana Ihsan Afzal, however, dismissed the concerns of the UN rapporteur and said Imran was being kept “according to prison rules and the jail manual”. “His children have access and he should schedule [a call] and put in the appropriate request. There is no issue or obstacle from the government of Pakistan,” said the premier’s aide. He added that the PTI founder is being provided facilities “greater than his rights” as a B-class prisoner. “He has the facilities of exercise available, good food is available and ample space is also available.” The UN official, Alice Jill Edwards, urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s i...

Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Information and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan said on Wednesday that the government is considering relocating PTI founder Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to a prison in another province, citing continued protests by party supporters outside the facility.

Rawalpindi - Aleema Khan and two other sisters of Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, on Tuesday evening started a sit-in near Adiala jail along with the party workers after they were denied to meet the ex-prime minister.

The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to ban incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and his party for being “anti-state”. The development comes days after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry assailed Khan for creating and spreading an “anti-army” rhetoric, stating that such narratives were now out of the realm of politics and had become a “national security threat”. Since then a war of words continued between the leaders of ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI over the presser, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying Imran had used “harsh language” in the past for members of the opposition, insisting that the party had no right to object to the comments by the military’s spokesman, while the opposition party emphatically deplored “ridiculous” remarks by the military spokesperson against ex-premier Imran Khan, saying he was “not a security threat”. PML-N MPA Tahir Pervaiz move...

The PTI emphatically deplored “ridiculous” remarks by the military spokesperson against ex-premier Imran Khan, saying he was “not a security threat”, and lamented the weakening of democracy in the country following the passage of recent constitutional amendments. In a blistering press conference on Friday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry assailed Imran for creating and spreading an “anti-army” rhetoric, stating that such narratives were now out of the realm of politics and had become a “national security threat”. Responding to the DG ISPR’s accusations in a press conference today at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said: “Do not drive away the people of Pakistan, they stand with Imran Khan and the PTI. Imran Khan is not a national security threat. He has kept the people united.” Raja said there were many narratives in the country, including along ethnic and sectarian lines, yet Imran had rejected all of them to ...

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday assailed incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan for creating and spreading an “anti-army” rhetoric, stating that such narratives were now out of the realm of politics and had become a “national security threat”. At the beginning of his press conference in Rawalpindi, he talked about a “creeping national security threat” that had become necessary for the military to address. “That threat emanates from a delusional mindset of a delusional person who has become captive to his own ego, thinking that his wishes are bigger than those of the state of Pakistan,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, in an apparent reference to incarcerated PTI founder, Imran Khan. “His ego, his wishes, and frustrations have grown to such an extent that he thinks that the world would cease to exist without him.” The DG ISPR added that it would be “a bit strange to see it coming from me, but the narrative that person is pushing is no more about politics now but...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was prevented for the ninth time by prison authorities from meeting PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail on Thursday. Imran’s sister Uzma Khan met the party founder in prison on Tuesday after weeks of effort, with CM Afridi and other party leaders scheduled to meet him today. The meeting took place as rumours regarding Imran’s health began circulating in local and foreign media, despite claims by the government and PTI leaders that the former prime minister was in good health. These speculations, however, gained traction due to the government’s reluctance to let visitors, including his family members and legal team, meet Imran over the past few weeks. According to a post on X by the PTI, CM Afridi went to Adiala jail to visit Imran, but access was not granted. Afridi addressed the media outside the prison after the continued lack of access. He said he would update the media on the immediate course of action — whether he would stage a sit-in or not. The PTI also...

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Wednesday dissolved the party’s political committee, with a plan to replace it with a smaller body. The party’s information secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, while talking to Dawn, confirmed that the current political committee has been dissolved and a new committee, having fewer members, will replace it. The now-dissolved committee had around 40 members. Waqas elaborated that the new committee will most likely have the party’s provincial heads, leaders of the opposition and a few more members. The party’s incarcerated founder also directed to appoint Shahid Khattak as parliamentary leader in the National Assembly. However, according to party insiders, it might not be implemented. In the past, Zartaj Gul was appointed as parliamentary leader, but this time, an excuse could be made that independent legislators cannot be appointed to the role. Moreover, Imran has authorised KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to reorganise the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF). PTI criticis...

In a key development in the petition seeking the suspension of the PTI founder’s X account, the Adiala Jail superintendent has firmly rejected claims that Imran Khan is operating social media from inside the prison.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written an official letter to Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif raising concerns over the denial of a meeting between PTI founder Imran Khan, who is currently detained at Adiala Jail, and his family members, despite court orders.

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that everyone should be allowed to meet PTI founder Imran Khan in jail, adding that such meetings would “not change anything.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the recent report published by The Economist about Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi is credible, noting that the magazine is a respected international publication.

Disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein termed former prime minister Imran Khan a major “threat to peace” in 2018, days after his PTI won Pakistan’s general elections. Epstein mentioned the now-incarcerated PTI founder in his email conversations with an unidentified individual on July 31, 2018, according to the latest batch of emails released by the US Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. In 2019, the United States Justice Department charged Epstein in Manhattan with sex trafficking of minors. Epstein pleaded not guilty, but died by suicide the same year before the trial at age 66. In an email exchange encompassing various topics, Epstein wrote at 4:04am that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been “kind so far” and quipped, “how the US involves itself in others’ elections”. Minutes later, Epstein mentioned both Imran and Putin in the same message: “[Putin] hasn’t pointed out assassinations to overthrow [governments] … coup funding … Imran [Khan] in Pakistan, a much greater threat to peac...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued notices to all parties in a contempt petition over the authorities’ failure to arrange a meeting between incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and his lawyer, despite court orders.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday rubbished the notion that the status of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan had any bearing on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s withdrawal of proposed immunity for the top office as part of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Government senators Anusha Rahman and Khalil Tahir Sandhu had tabled a proposal for the 27th Amendment bill to extend the immunity currently enjoyed by the president under Article 248 of the Constitution to include the prime minister. The clause sought to extend presidential immunity to the prime minister, effectively barring criminal proceedings against the premier during the term in office. Article 248 of the Constitution stipulates that “no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office”. However, PM Shehbaz had ordered the clause’s withdrawal on Sunday, saying that the premier must remain “fully accountable”. Separat...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has scheduled a hearing for November 4 on a petition seeking the suspension of the X (formerly Twitter) account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has said that Pakistan’s direction is clear — only Imran Khan’s policy will be followed.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed authorities to strictly enforce its earlier directives regarding meetings with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan at Adiala Jail.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday extended the interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, in the October 5 protest case.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Wednesday that former prime minister Imran Khan has offered to resolve the recent hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan and other issues if he is released on parole. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9 protests. The PTI has regularly raised concerns about his health and that of the former first lady. Meanwhile, lingering tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border terrorism broke out into outright fighting and skirmishes over the weekend that left several dead and injured on both sides. A temporary ceasefire was announced today after three days of fighting. Addressing a press conference outside Adiala Jail after a meeting with Imran, Barrister Gohar said: “Today, Imran has sent this message: ‘I offer you people that release me on parole and I will solve the Afghanistan problem for you.’” The ...