NEWS DESK (MNN); Kasim Khan, son of former Prime Minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday, claiming that his father’s treatment by Pakistani authorities violated international human rights conventions.
Imran Khan has been imprisoned since 2023 in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, serving a 14-year sentence in the £190 million Toshakhana corruption case. His party and family allege he is being held in solitary confinement, with severe restrictions on visitors, and have repeatedly raised concerns over his medical care, particularly after reports emerged in January that he was suffering from an eye condition.
At the UNHRC session, Kasim Khan said Imran’s case was part of a “wider pattern of repression” in Pakistan since 2022, pointing to the detention of political prisoners, trial of civilians in military courts, and journalists being silenced, abducted, or forced into exile. He also raised allegations of electoral fraud in the February 2024 general elections.
Kasim emphasized Pakistan’s obligations under the GSP+ framework and international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture. He claimed that his father’s detention, solitary confinement, denial of family visits, and restricted medical care violated these commitments.
He concluded by stating that he and his brother were not political figures, but “my father’s life demands that we take action… we cannot stand by as his health deteriorates.”
Recently, Kasim shared a message from Imran via the social media platform X, in which Imran criticized the judiciary for “selling their integrity.” Concerns about Imran’s health have increased after partial vision loss in his right eye was reported. He has since undergone a third eye procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. His family is demanding that he be admitted to Shifa International Hospital, with access provided to his personal doctors.
The government and opposition have been engaged in a blame game over his medical treatment and access to doctors, with the government denying the allegations.
