Imran Khan's sons fear for former Pakistani PM's health

Two sons of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are increasingly concerned for their father's health after hearing he is agitated and suffering from anxiety during his detention. Sulaiman (29) and Kasim Khan (27) said they have not heard their father's voice in nearly six months, with their last conversation being a 20-minute call during Eid al-Fitr in March.

According to Kasim, during rare calls, Khan would ask about his children's lives but avoided discussing his own condition. "He is the calmest and strongest person I have ever known. Hearing that my father is anxious is hard to believe," Kasim said.

Imran Khan, 73, has been held at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi for three years. Since being ousted in 2022, he has faced over 100 cases, including allegations of bribery, revealing state secrets, and illegally selling state gifts. He denies all charges and calls them politically motivated. Most convictions have been suspended or overturned, with a few awaiting appeal.

Khan's two sisters, Uzma and Noreen, recently met him after months apart. They described him as "agitated" and "mentally tortured" due to solitary confinement. His sons said their father has a racing heart and palpitations from severe anxiety. In February, his lawyer said Khan had lost 85% of vision in his right eye. "He still wore an eye patch when meeting our aunts," Sulaiman said, adding that Khan had been denied family visits for 10 months.

On August 18, Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered Khan be transferred to Shifa International Hospital within two days, allowing weekly family visits, two phone calls with his children per week, and permitting his personal doctor and sister (also a physician) to join his medical care. However, Khan was only taken to the public PIMS hospital for a brief check-up before returning to prison on August 20. His PTI party filed a lawsuit, alleging the government is not complying with the ruling.

Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Ministry rejected the family's allegations, asserting Khan receives adequate medical care and that the government has not violated the Supreme Court's directive. The ministry said Khan has undergone 30 medical check-ups since his detention, with doctors concluding he is "alert, stable, and showing no acute deterioration." It also denied he is isolated, saying he has had around 198 meetings with over 900 visitors, including family, lawyers, and doctors.

Voices supporting Khan's release have emerged from the United Nations, Amnesty International, politicians in Washington and London, and 21 former cricket team captains. Jemima Goldsmith, Khan's ex-wife and mother of Sulaiman and Kasim, has appealed to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for help. She said her British-citizen sons have been denied visas and warned they would be arrested if they visited Pakistan to see their father.

Kasim said: "The inhumanity here is not letting someone get basic health checks or treatment. If they deny all allegations of mistreatment, prove it. Take him to an impartial doctor and hospital, publish the medical results." Still, he believes in his father's resilience: "If there is hope anyone can weather this, it is him."