Former PM Imran Khan (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Pakistan government on Saturday clarified that there is “no embargo” on former prime minister Imran Khan’s sons meeting their incarcerated father if they travel to the country. The government official also said the brothers would be granted Pakistani visas should they wish to come and visit him.The statement came after reports suggested that authorities had imposed unannounced restrictions on visits to Imran Khan, claiming that some visitors were using the meetings to advance political agendas. Following these reports, members of his family and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) expressed concern about the conditions in which he is being held.”There has been no embargo on Suleman Khan and Kasim Khan to meet their father, Imran Khan, at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi,” Interior state minister Talal Chaudhry told reporters.Suleman and Kasim, who currently live in London, are Khan’s sons from his first marriage to British TV personality Jemima Goldsmith.Chaudhry’s clarification comes days after the brothers told Sky News they fear they may never see their jailed father again. The brothers said they have not seen or spoken to the PTI founder, imprisoned since August 2023, for months, and voiced concerns about his safety and well-being.“If Suleman and Kasim apply for a Pakistani visa, we will give them. We will not stop them from meeting their father; therefore, the propaganda that the Pakistani government is creating hurdles in the meeting between father and sons should be stopped,” Chaudhry said.He also rejected reports that Khan is being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.In their interview, the brothers alleged that their father is being held in isolation, calling the conditions “clear torture tactics.”Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces multiple cases filed against him since his ouster from power in April 2022.A United Nations special rapporteur has also warned that Khan is being held in conditions that may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.In the interview, Kasim claimed Khan is confined to a cell measuring “six feet by eight inches,” barely large enough to stand.“They are not even allowing guards to speak to him because they want total isolation from any other person, just to try and break him. So it’s all very clear torture tactics,” he said.
