Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is being held in what has been described as harsh conditions at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, with reports alleging prolonged isolation, limited access to reading material and restrictions on contact with his family.
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According to a report by The Times UK, Khan is being kept in a 6ft by 8ft cell typically used for prisoners on death row. The report said the 73-year-old has no reading material apart from the Quran and is being provided “soiled brown water” to drink.
His sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, have reportedly been unable to meet their father in person since 2022 and have at times been prevented from speaking to him by telephone for months. They have described his living conditions as inhumane “torture tactics”.
The report said visitors have been barred and Khan has been confined to his cell for as much as 23 hours a day.
The reported restrictions have also become the subject of repeated legal challenges by Khan’s family.
His sister Uzma Khan filed a fresh contempt petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging that authorities have failed to comply with an August 18 order concerning Khan’s access to his family.
According to The Express Tribune, the petition names Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Adiala Jail Superintendent Sajid Baig, Punjab Inspector General of Prisons Mian Salik Jalal and other senior officials as respondents.
The August 18 order had directed authorities to facilitate virtual communication between Khan and his sons and allow his sisters to meet him weekly. However, Uzma said she was denied a scheduled visit on Tuesday, while telephone communication between Khan and his sons has remained restricted since March.
The petition also alleges that authorities failed to establish the infrastructure required for bi-weekly telephone calls with Sulaiman and Kasim.
The latest dispute follows an earlier contempt petition over the alleged non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s direction to transfer Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical evaluation. He was instead taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on August 21 before being returned to Adiala Jail after doctors declared him “medically fit”. Authorities have cited security concerns for the decision.
