Imran Khan’s sister voices alarm over brother's condition in jail: ‘Not telling us anything’

Imran Khan, who is the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

Noreen Niazi, one of the three sisters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, has expressed anguish over the uncertainty looming about her brother's condition in prison.

Former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan during a joint news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020.(Reuters)

Imran Khan, who is the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

Speaking to ANI, Noreen Niazi alleged that authorities in Pakistan are not allowing her and others to meet him for over four weeks. She also claimed that they have been deliberately holding up information about his brother's condition in jail.

"We don't know anything. They are not telling us anything, nor are they letting anybody meet him. His party's people went there because they had a meeting scheduled, but they were not allowed inside. We have not been allowed to meet him for the last four weeks…" she said.

On a question about her last meeting with her brother, Niazi recalled the time when Imran Khan was kept in isolation for nearly three weeks last year, with no electricity and was not allowed to read books.

She claimed that authorities violated the prison manual, which states that isolation should not last more than four days.

"He is going through a tough time alone. He is in isolation. As per the jail manual, one can't be placed in isolation for more than four days. But he was put in isolation for three weeks last year as well, during which electricity was switched off during summer, and he wasn't even allowed to read books. The same has been done now. No one knows what's happening inside the jail. This is the pinnacle of oppression," Niazi told ANI.

She also criticised the Pakistan government, claiming police in the country have been given a free hand to deal with those supporting Imran Khan. Niazi alleged that police have been allowed to "beat up" people, including children, women, and the elderly, without the fear of facing any consequences.

"The police have been ordered to stop us and, I believe, also permitted to do to us whatever they want. This has never happened in Pakistan before. No one has ever disrespected women like this, nor has anyone been oppressed this way. This is the first time in Pakistan that these people have been allowed to beat up people like there won't be any consequences, without considering if it's a child, an elderly person, or a woman in front of them. The world is aware of what's happening in Pakistan," she was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier this week, the Adiala Jail administration had refuted claims about Imran Khan's health, saying that he had been moved out of the facility. They said that the PTI leader was in good health and that rumours of his death were "baseless". "He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention," they had said.