Imran's sons Kasim, Suleiman planning to visit Pakistan in Jan

PTI founder Imran Khan’s sons, Kasim and Suleiman Khan, appeared on an interview with Sky News in which they said they are concerned about the conditions in which their father has been kept in prison and are planning to visit him in January.

They told the anchor, Yalda Hakim, that they have applied for visas amid concerns over his detention conditions, describing his cell as a “death cell”.

The interview with Sky News was released early Wednesday, when tensions arose outside Adiala Jail, where another sit-in by Imran’s sisters demanding a meeting with him was denied using water cannons. PTI claimed that the water used was “chemical-laced”.

As court-ordered prison visits remain blocked, Imran Khan’s family and party have repeatedly raised concerns about his condition in the prison. A United Nations special rapporteur also said that the conditions in which Imran is being held is inhuman and degrading.

During the interview, Imran’s sons were asked, whether they approached the Pakistani government for permission to visit their father. To which they claimed that, earlier, they had been “warned not to come”, despite Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly stating that they were welcome to visit.

Kasim said they were now moving ahead with their plans. “We have applied for our visas. It hasn’t come through yet, but we’re expecting it to come through, so we are planning a trip in January,” he said.

Hakim then asked them that whether they would urge their father to consider “cutting a deal”, on which, Kasim denied, saying politics was his father’s life purpose. He said Imran believed it was his mission to rid Pakistan of corruption and that abandoning this struggle to live quietly abroad would leave him deeply unhappy. “You can only respect his passion,” he said.

Kasim also shared that Imran avoids discussing his own hardships during their limited interactions on phone, instead asks about his sons’ life updates and their grandmother, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, who died in October. He said they had not spoken to their father since her death and that he wished to discuss it with him, given the close bond Imran shared with her emotionally.

Describing jail conditions, Suleiman said Imran was being held in what had been termed a “death cell”, with minimal lighting, power outages and dirty water, calling the conditions substandard and in violation of international norms. 

They also addressed a recent meeting between Imran and his sister Uzma in which Imran was furious about his treatment in jail, he dubbed a tweet through his sister against the establishment, which they strongly feel, led to his complete isolation in the prison.

Calling for international attention, Kasim and Suleiman urged independent monitoring of Imran’s detention and respect for basic human rights, including visitation rights and access to his personal physician. They also criticised recent constitutional amendments, as “military dictatorship in everything”, Kasim stated.

The programme also featured Mosharraf Zaidi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson for foreign media, who rejected claims of solitary confinement. He said Imran had been imprisoned for around 860 days and had held 870 interviews, including hundreds with lawyers and dozens with family members. Zaidi said that restrictions on meetings were due to security concerns and insisted that Imran’s physician had access.

The interview showed deep contrast between the government and Imran Khan’s family over his detention, treatment and political future.