The sons of former Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to international attention to what they describe as the “inhuman” incarceration of their father, calling in particular former American president Donald Trump to use his influence to support his release.
In a vast interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, the two brothers expressed profound concern about the deterioration of their father’s health and prison conditions, who has been in detention in Adiala prison since August 2023.
“We urge Pakistan leaders to respect democracy, to respect the will of the Pakistani people – which was clear despite the massive rigging of the February elections – and to give them a fair trial,” said Sulaiman Khan.
The brothers, who have largely avoided the spotlight in the past, have broken their public silence on the imprisonment of their father in May this year.
The brothers said they were forced to express themselves due to the desperate circumstances surrounding their father’s detention. “We are quite private people … But it’s at a stage where we are desperate. We want to do everything we can, ”said Kasim.
Sulaiman and Kasim revealed that they had not seen their father for almost three years and have not spoken to him for more than four months.
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“A Pakistani court forced weekly telephone calls, but we sometimes went two or three months without contact,” said Sulaiman. “Often, we received a message at 2 am saying that we are talking to him at 9 am. If we miss that, the luck had disappeared – it rolled over two additional months.”
The brothers said that they had not given a single phone call since their last public interview, suggesting that the authorities used it to “cause distress”.
Describing the current conditions of Khan in prison, the brothers alleged that he was confined to a small cell for 22 hours a day with limited access to books, his legal team and even his doctor.
“He washes with visibly troubled and discolored water. The hygiene levels are appalling,” said Kasim. “Ten people died in this prison because of hepatitis C, which would have spread under unsanitary conditions.”
They also alleged that the authorities had restricted access to the few books that Khan had been authorized to read and said that his physical and mental well-being was increasingly threatened.
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“There were times when I thought: will I see him again?” Said Kasim quietly. “It is the longest that I went without talking to him. Fear is very real.”
The brothers said they had explored the possibility of visiting Pakistan to see their father but were warned by sources in the Pakistani government and their own extensive network that they would probably be arrested upon arrival.
“We have always asked for visas and have not yet received an answer,” they said, adding that they were hoped to go to Pakistan when the circumstances allowed.
Sulaiman and Kasim also called the international community – in particular the American president Donald Trump – to use his influence to support the release of their father.
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“If someone can make a difference, it’s him,” said Sulaiman. “Trump and my father had an excellent relationship when the two were in office. They respected themselves, and we know that he is one of the few people who could make the establishment act in Pakistan.”
They also recognized the support of the Special American Presidential Shipping Richard Grenell, who publicly pleaded for the liberation of Khan on social networks.
“We would be delighted to speak to Trump or find a way to help.
