Imran Khan being held in 'death cell', his sons say

The sons of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have said they fear they might never see their father again as he is being "psychologically tortured" in a "death cell".

Speaking to Sky News' The World with Yalda Hakim, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan said they had not spoken to their father, who has been in prison since August 2023, for months. Kasim described the conditions the former Pakistani leader has been kept in, saying: "He's been in a solitary confinement cell for over two years where he's had filthy water, he is around inmates who are dying of hepatitis, the conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact." He continued: "It's getting harder to see a route out at this point.

We're trying to have faith. But at the same time, right now, the conditions are getting worse.

"It's very hard to see a way out… We're now worried we might never see him again." Kasim said his father was being subjected to "psychological torture tactics" as even the prison guards were not allowed to communicate with Imran Khan, who led the country between 2018 and 2022. Sulaiman said his father's cell, where he allegedly spends 23 hours a day, has been described as a "death cell".

He said an army spokesperson announced on Friday that Imran Khan, who has in the past been shot three times, was now officially in full isolation. He added that his father was being kept in "completely substandard conditions that don't meet international law for any sort of prisoner".

The brothers' words echo what one of Imran Khan's sisters reported after being allowed to meet the former cricketer in prison at the start of the month. Uzma Khanum said at the time that her brother was facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.

The former leader has been in jail since his August 2023 arrest after he was handed a three-year prison term for illegally selling state gifts. He was convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven following his ousting in a 2022 parliamentary vote.

Kasim said his father would "never take a deal and leave all of his other party members in jail to die and fester in these jails... instead he stays in those conditions, happy to rot and it means that he can move towards his goal of ridding Pakistan of corruption, a goal that he has stated to us a million times".

Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim on Tuesday, Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesperson for Pakistan's PM, denied allegations Imran Khan was being kept in solitary confinement. He told Sky News Imran Khan had been in prison for about 860 days and had 870 visits, despite the fact he is supposed to get one visit per week.

Before launching his political career, Imran Khan was best known as a star of international cricket and for leading Pakistan to Cricket World Cup victory in 1992..