Imran Khan's sons accuse Pak's Shehbaz Sharif govt of 'deliberately' refusing visa to meet their father

Lahore: Sons of Pakistan's incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan have accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of “deliberately” refusing visas to them, saying democracy in the country is “hollow” and basic human rights are being “crushed.” Khan, 73, was arrested and jailed in August 2023 in multiple cases and currently lodged in the Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi after his conviction in one of them.

Suleman Khan and Kasim Khan, who currently live in London, are Khan's sons from his first marriage with British TV personality Jemima Goldsmith.

“My brother and I are trying to travel to Pakistan to see our father. For 914 days, he has been held in solitary confinement while his health deteriorates and he is denied access to independent medical care.

“Now the government is deliberately refusing to process our visas. Denying a prisoner treatment is cruel. Denying his children the right to see him is collective punishment,” Kasim Khan said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Imran Khan's family has claimed he has been in solitary confinement for the past several months and his health condition is not better.

On January 29, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that Imran Khan underwent a medical procedure for an eye ailment at a hospital a week before and currently is in “good health.” The development came a day after the former prime minister's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claimed that its jailed founder was suffering from a serious eye ailment that could cause permanent damage to his eyesight if not treated promptly.

Kasim Khan reiterated that his father has now spent “over 900 days in a death cell with no family visits and no access to his personal doctors,” and added in his post on X that credible reports confirm he has been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion, a dangerous blockage that can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated through urgent medical intervention in a proper hospital.

“Yet authorities continue to block his treatment and deny him the doctors he trusts. I am even denied the right to speak to him. This is not governance. This is authoritarian cruelty,” Kasim Khan said and called on every defender of human rights to act “before it is too late.” “The world must see that in Pakistan today, democracy is hollow and basic human rights are being crushed. I call on international human rights organisations and governments to speak out and act before irreversible harm is done,” he said.

Before Minister Tarar's statement, the PTI had uploaded a post on social media with the title “Reaction on Grave Health Emergency of Imran Khan and the Obstinacy of the Government and Adiala Jail Administration.” “The PTI has learned through credible media reports that former prime minister Imran Khan has been diagnosed with CRVO (Central Retinal Vein Occlusion) in his right eye, resulting in a dangerous blockage in the retinal vein.

“According to medical experts who reportedly checked him in jail, this is an extremely sensitive and serious medical condition which, if not treated promptly and properly, carries a high risk of permanent damage to his eyesight,” it said.