Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is alive and well, his sister said, after she was finally allowed to visit him in prison on Tuesday.
Uzma Khan’s visit was the first time any member of Khan’s family had seen him in weeks, and the authorities have also barred him from meeting his legal team or political party officials – leading to mounting speculation about his wellbeing.
Uzma Khan’s remarks late on Tuesday after the visit to Adiala Jail appeared to be aimed at reassuring Khan’s millions of supporters in Pakistan and abroad after concerns were raised over his health and whereabouts – and even whether he was still alive.
Prison authorities had dismissed the rumours about his condition as baseless.
“Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he said that they are subjecting him to mental torture, and that Asim Munir is responsible for all of this,” said his sister.
Field Marshal Asim Munir is the chief of Pakistan’s army, and considered to be the most powerful figure in the country. He recently secured expanded powers and lifelong legal immunity after parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which also limits the independence of the Supreme Court.
Imran Khan, 73, has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 after being convicted of corruption and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career.
His wife, Bushra Bibi, has also been convicted of corruption and is serving time in the same prison, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.
Speaking to reporters in the city of Rawalpindi, where he is imprisoned, Uzma Khan said she had found her brother to be in “perfectly ... good health” but furious over the largely solitary conditions he is subject to in prison.
“When I met with him, he was very angry,” she said, quoting him as saying that the “mental torture” of his solitary confinement is “worse than physical abuse”.
Supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had gathered outside the Adiala prison since early on Tuesday, anxious to hear news about the politician, who had received no visits since 4 November. They waited until his sister emerged from the facility to make her brief statement.
Authorities deployed hundreds of officers around the prison and issued a ban on rallies there and in Islamabad.
Imran Khan’s spokesperson Zulfiqar Bukhari said that only one sister was allowed a brief meeting. He said Khan’s family and legal team should be allowed regular meetings, and denounced the restrictions on access to Khan as “mental torture”.
After nearly one month, Imran Khan’s sister was finally allowed to meet him today. “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he said that they are subjecting him to mental torture, and that Asim Munir is responsible for all of this.” Dr. Uzma.#FreeImranKhan pic.twitter.com/YbFvlQIPjS
— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) December 2, 2025
Thanking the international media, he wrote: “When our own local media has been clamped down and silenced, it was their compassion and unwavering reporting that finally pushed this unelected setup to allow Imran Khan’s sister to meet him.
“Although he is legally entitled to frequent visits by multiple family members and others. Today proves that when we raise our voices together, change becomes possible.”
Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and his party is in opposition in Pakistan’s parliament. Khan and his party often allege that its mandate was stolen in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which they say were rigged in favour of the current prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, a charge the government denies.
Khan has been convicted of several charges ranging from corruption to revealing state secrets, and is serving multiple prison terms concurrently, meaning he serves only the longest term.
Additional reporting by agencies
