“He has no contact with outside world:” Jemima Khan expresses concern over Imran’s solitary confinement

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan’s former wife Jemima Goldsmith raised alarm over the treatment of her ex-husband during his incarceration at Adiala Jail, stating that he has been cut off from the outside world.

Taking to X, Jemima Khan said, “In the last few weeks there have been serious and concerning developments regarding my sons’ father, Imran Khan’s treatment in prison.”

She added, “The Pakistan authorities have stopped all visits to him by his family and his lawyers. They have also postponed all court hearings. In addition to cutting off in- person visits, and in defiance of a court order, his weekly calls to his sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, who are British and who live in London, were stopped on 10th September.”

Jemima asserted that the authorities have reportedly kept Imran Khan in a dark prison cell in an attempt to torture him. 

“We have received reports that the authorities have now turned off the lights and electricity in his cell and he is no longer allowed to leave his cell at any time. The jail cook has been sent on leave. He is now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world. His lawyers are concerned about his safety and well-being.”

She also expressed concern for Imran Khan’s family members, who have also been detained by the police without any legal justification.

In the last few weeks there have been serious and concerning developments regarding my sons’ father, Imran Khan’s treatment in prison. The Pakistan authorities have stopped all visits to him by his family and his lawyers. They have also postponed all court hearings. In addition…

— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) October 15, 2024

“These actions come in the context of ongoing targeting of Imran’s family, as well as his party (PTI) members and supporters in an attempt to silence them and all political opposition in Pakistan. Imran’s nephew, Hassan Niazi, a civilian, has been detained in military custody since August 2023,” Jemima explained. 

She furthered on, “More recently, Imran Khan’s sisters, Uzma and Aleema Khan, who have continued to speak out on his behalf, have also been arrested as they made their way peacefully to a demonstration and they are currently being held in jail, despite there being no proper or lawful basis for their imprisonment.”

“In June this year the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Imran is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained and called for his immediate release,” she stated. 

Jemima called on Pakistani authorities “for Imran Khan’s release, and for the release of his sisters and nephew as well as for his sons’ contact with their father to be re-established, so that they may have assurance first-hand that he is well and not being mistreated.”