Why jail access to Pakistan’s Imran Khan has caused a political storm

For astir a month, household members of Pakistan’s jailed erstwhile premier minister, Imran Khan, 73, accidental they were barred from seeing him, prompting protests and causing concerns astir his health.

After his sister, Uzma Khanum, yet visited him astatine Adiala jail, the cardinal jailhouse successful Pakistan’s Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital, Islamabad, connected Tuesday this week, however, she said Khan’s wellness appeared to beryllium good.

Still, she said, the conditions successful which helium is being held are mediocre and that helium has described his imprisonment arsenic “mental torture”.

Khan is presently serving lengthy situation sentences pursuing convictions connected corruption charges.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, is besides serving a seven-year word for receiving onshore bribes successful 1 of these corruption cases – the al-Qadir Trust case. Khan and Bibi person denied each of the charges against them.

Here is what we cognize astir wherefore visits to Khan person been blocked.

Why is Khan successful jail?

Khan, who was premier curate of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, has been successful situation since his apprehension successful August 2023 connected corruption charges. He is serving situation sentences pursuing a slew of ineligible cases, including:

• Al-Qadir Trust case: Khan and his woman were accused of accepting onshore worthy 7 cardinal rupees ($25.12m) arsenic a bribe from a existent property developer successful speech for amerciable favours, via a spot called al-Qadir, which was established successful 2018. In January 2025, Khan was sentenced by an Islamabad accountability tribunal to 14 years successful situation and Bibi to 7 years, aft being recovered guilty.

• Toshakhana case: In August 2023, Khan was arrested and aboriginal recovered blameworthy of selling authorities gifts worthy much than 140 cardinal Pakistani rupees ($497,000), which helium allegedly received during his premiership. He was sentenced to 14 years successful prison.

• Anti-terrorism charges: Following Khan’s apprehension successful May 2023, his supporters staged often-violent protests crossed Pakistan. Khan present besides faces anti-terrorism charges successful narration to the protests. He was indicted successful December 2024 successful an anti-terrorism tribunal successful Rawalpindi and pleaded not guilty. He has not been tried yet.
• Cypher case: Khan was charged with making nationalist a classified cablegram – a cypher – sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador successful Washington successful 2022. He was indicted alongside elder PTI person Shah Mahmood Qureshi successful October 2023. Khan and Qureshi were recovered blameworthy by a peculiar tribunal established nether the Official Secrets Act and were convicted successful January 2024. Qureshi and Khan were each sentenced to 10 years successful prison.
• Iddat case: Khan and his woman were accused of marrying earlier his wife’s mandatory waiting play pursuing her divorcement from her erstwhile husband. They were acquitted successful July.

Khan argues that each the cases brought against him are politically motivated.

What did Uzma Khanum accidental astir her sojourn to Khan?

Following her sojourn with her member connected Tuesday, Khanum, who is simply a doctor, told reporters successful Rawalpindi that her member is confined to his compartment for astir of the time and is allowed extracurricular for lone a abbreviated play of time.

“He is physically well. But helium is kept wrong each the clip and lone goes retired for a abbreviated while. There is nary interaction with anybody. He was precise aggravated and said that they are subjecting him to intelligence torture.”

She added that her 30-minute gathering with Khan had been intimately supervised, with nary mobile devices allowed.

Later, alongside her sister Aleema Khanum and leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf enactment (PTI), she told the media: “When I met him, helium was precise disturbed and precise angry. He said that they are keeping him and Bushra Bibi successful specified intelligence torture successful a tiny room, helium said helium was not allowed to conscionable anyone for 4 weeks … helium said this intelligence torture is worse than carnal torture.”

Have visits to Khan been officially blocked?

Pakistan’s authorities person not confirmed whether determination is an authoritative artifact connected visits to Khan oregon what the crushed for that mightiness be.

Tuesday’s gathering with his sister followed claims from Khan’s household and PTI leaders that visits to him had been blocked contempt tribunal orders allowing them.

In precocious October this year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Adiala jailhouse superintendent to instrumentality an bid it issued successful March permitting Khan to conscionable with designated visitors connected Tuesday and Thursday each week.

Family members accidental these visits were ne'er allowed, however. As a result, rumours began to circulate among Khan’s supporters that helium was either sick oregon being transferred to different jail. Some adjacent speculated that Khan had died.

What enactment person his household and supporters taken?

Khan’s sisters and supporters person agelong protested against Khan’s imprisonment. They archetypal staged a carnal protestation extracurricular Adiala jailhouse implicit the blocked entree connected November 18.

They said their protestation was besides successful solidarity with the families of PTI members who were killed during clashes with information forces during earlier fashionable protests calling for Khan’s merchandise from situation connected May 9, 2023; October 4, 2024; and November 26, 2024.

On November 18, Khan’s sisters alleged that they were “violently detained” and manhandled portion camping extracurricular Adiala jail.

In a 2nd protestation extracurricular the jailhouse connected November 25, which was livestreamed connected the PTI YouTube channel, Aleema said: “Who knows, possibly Imran has been shifted. Why are they not letting america conscionable him?”

Then, Sohail Afridi, PTI subordinate and main curate of Pakistan’s northwestern province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, staged an overnight, livestreamed sit-in extracurricular Adiala jailhouse connected November 28, claiming helium had been denied entree to Khan 8 times.

Protests calling for Khan’s merchandise besides broke retired successful the metropolis of Peshawar successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has been a PTI stronghold since 2013 erstwhile the enactment archetypal formed a provincial authorities there.

Tuesday’s gathering betwixt Khan and his sister yet took spot arsenic protests continued extracurricular Adiala jail.

Then connected Tuesday, section authorities enacted Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, allowing territory administrations to forbid the assembly of 4 oregon much radical successful nationalist areas for constricted periods of clip successful 2 places – for 2 months successful Islamabad and until Wednesday this week successful Rawalpindi.

What has the authorities said?

The authorities has not explicitly confirmed that visits to Khan person been barred oregon cited immoderate crushed for blocking access.

Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, a person from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) told the National Assembly connected November 28 that Khan was successful bully wellness and that rumours astir his wellness had been dispersed by Indian and Afghan media.

“His wellness is perfectly good and determination is nary information to his life,” Chaudhry said.

Supporters of the jailed erstwhile premier curate of Pakistan and person of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan, stitchery during a protestation implicit concerns astir his health, adjacent Adiala jailhouse successful Rawalpindi, Pakistan, connected December 2, 2025 [Salahuddin/Reuters]

Why person Khan’s jailhouse visits caused a governmental tempest successful Pakistan?

Some experts accidental that barring visits to Khan successful jailhouse is simply a governmental strategy which whitethorn backfire connected Pakistan’s governing party, PML-N.

“The superior nonsubjective of blocking entree and keeping Khan successful solitary confinement is seemingly meant to interruption him into [agreeing to] a compromise and neutralise the groundswell of antigovernment sentiment,” governmental expert Imtiaz Gul, who is enforcement manager of Islamabad-based deliberation tank, the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), told Al Jazeera.

Usama Khilji, a columnist based successful Pakistan and manager of integer rights advocacy organisation Bolo Bhi, told Al Jazeera: “In Pakistan, politicians are either successful authorities oregon successful jail, with the information constitution having the main accidental down the scenes successful who gets to govern. Imran Khan is presently a unfortunate of politically motivated cases wherever owed process is undermined done an progressively managed judiciary.”

Khan’s PTI was barred from contesting successful the 2024 nationalist elections, and respective enactment leaders person been arrested. Party members contested arsenic autarkic candidates successful the elections and won much seats than immoderate different party.

But the PTI alleged that the authorities and subject rigged the predetermination to contradict them adjacent much seats – and autarkic observers besides pointed to respective irregularities successful ballot counting. The authorities and subject person repeatedly rejected accusations that the elections were manipulated.

“As the astir fashionable person successful Pakistan astatine the moment, his governmental enactment has faced systematic persecution; and their protests person been met with convulsive pushback and a virtual outlawing of immoderate benignant of demonstrations,” Khilji said.

“Restricting entree to him successful jailhouse is being done successful usurpation of tribunal orders and prisoners’ rights successful bid to nonstop a connection to his enactment and different politicians: if you don’t toed the line, determination volition beryllium terrible consequences.”