ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government on Friday rejected allegations by the family and party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan that he was being subjected to “cruelty, mental torture, punitive solitary confinement and medical neglect” as baseless, saying the accusations weren't supported by prison and medical records.
Khan isn't being held under a government order, but as a “convicted prisoner” serving sentences imposed by courts following
judicial proceedings, the Ministry of Information said in a written response to The Associated Press.
The government’s response came hours after Khan’s family and opposition party accused authorities of violating a Supreme Court order by taking him to a government hospital for a medical examination instead of a private hospital designated by the court.
Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, told a news conference that she was at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, a government-run hospital in Islamabad, when her brother was brought there overnight.
Khan’s sister said that during a meeting with her, Khan complained that he had been kept in solitary confinement, which she said amounted to mental torture for him. Suhail Afridi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, also accused the government of violating the order by taking Khan to the public hospital.
Khan’s personal physician, Dr. Faisal Sultan, said that he had been escorted to Shifa International Hospital, where he waited for Khan until early Friday. Sultan said he was eventually told that Khan had been returned to Adiala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said earlier Friday that Khan had been returned to prison after doctors examined him and found him medically fit.
The ministry also rejected allegations that Khan was being held in solitary confinement or denied meaningful contact with his family. It said that Khan had received more than 900 visits from family members, lawyers, doctors, political representatives and other approved visitors since his imprisonment in 2023. It said that he also has been allowed weekly meetings with his wife, and telephone, landline and WhatsApp contact with relatives in Pakistan and abroad.
According to the ministry, Khan’s most recent recorded telephone conversation with one of his sons was on March 21. It said that Khan’s sisters had met him as recently as Aug. 18 and 19.
The government said Khan has access to reading material and television, and is allowed home-cooked food and exercise equipment and “maintains a healthy diet.” It said, however, that access to Khan couldn't be used to send political messages from prison.
The ministry rejected allegations of medical neglect, saying Khan had undergone about 30 examinations by specialists and medical boards from institutions including PIMS, Shifa International Hospital, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, in addition to regular examinations by the prison doctor.
The ministry said Uzma Khan had herself acknowledged at Friday’s news conference that her brother was “100% fit,” with blood pressure of 120/80 and his eye condition almost completely healed.
It also disputed descriptions of Khan’s detention conditions, saying he was being held in a seven-cell compound with sleeping, sanitation and exercise facilities, and was provided separately prepared meals that included meat, chicken, fruit, milk, nuts, juices and bottled water.
The government insists that authorities took Khan to the public hospital because of security concerns involving supporters of Khan’s PTI party who had gathered outside Shifa International Hospital or were heading there. He said that Khan was found to be in good health.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Khan be examined at Shifa International Hospital by a medical board that included specialists and one of his personal physicians.
Concerns about Khan’s health intensified in late January, after his family said that he had lost about 85% of the vision in his right eye, which the government disputed. Authorities later said that his condition was improving.
The former cricket star turned politician was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases.
