PTI challenges govt claims about Imran’s incarceration

PTI challenges govt claims regarding Imran's incarceration.

Key points

• Ikram Junaidi Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 09am.
• Nevertheless, speaking at a press conference on Monday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja rejected all the claims.
• Last week, after an interview with Imran's sons was broadcast during the Lord's Test, the Ministry of Information issued a detailed statement.
• Imran Khan has been in prison since 2023 and a number of cases against him have been tried within the jail premises.
• In November 2025, one sister, Dr Uzma, was allowed to meet Imran.

Ikram Junaidi Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 09am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the government's claims regarding Imran Khan as "misleading, fabricated and incorrect", PTI leaders on Monday painted a sorry picture of the conditions he endures in prison.

Last week, after an interview with Imran's sons was broadcast during the Lord's Test, the Ministry of Information issued a detailed statement. It was published on social media and sent to the foreign press.

It asserted that Imran was "not a person held under executive detention" and that he had been incarcerated based on multiple convictions after judicial proceedings, noting that the PTI founder "remains entitled to pursue all remedies available to him under Pakistani law".

"His imprisonment is governed by the Pakistan Prison Rules, applicable judicial directions and security arrangements appropriate to a high-profile prisoner, " the statement read.

Salman Akram Raja notes court orders not being followed; lawyers not allowed to interact with their client even during trial.

In practice, the information ministry additionally rejected allegations that Imran was being subjected to "punitive solitary confinement, cruelty or deprivation", stating that visits, phone calls, reading materials and home-cooked meals, among other amenities, were available to him.

"His accommodation includes an exclusive seven-cell compound with sleeping, sanitation and exercise facilities, " the ministry remarked.

"The major grievance regarding Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi is that, for the last 15 months since March 2025, there has been a judgement of the Islamabad High Court that Imran and his wife be allowed to meet family members at least twice a week, but it is not being implemented, " he remarked.

The court additionally allowed meetings with lawyers, but they were not allowed. After October 2025, meetings with his sisters were ceased, meetings with Imran's sisters were additionally severely restricted and.

"In November 2025, one sister, Dr Uzma, was allowed to meet Imran. Moreover, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa Interna­tional Hospital, but that order was additionally not implemented. This amounts to denial of Imran's rights and the rights of his sisters, " he continued.

Mr Raja remarked almost 300 cases had been filed against Imran, yet his lawyers were not allowed to meet him.

"Only one lawyer, Salman Safdar, was allowed to meet him, but he did not meet him as Imran Khan's lawyer; he met him as a court-appointed amicus. So the report stating that Imran Khan has been allowed to meet family and friends is fabricated, " he asserted.

He remarked contempt petitions had additionally been filed against the Adiala jail administration for not allowing meetings with lawyers and family members.

"Imran Khan has been in prison since 2023 and a number of cases against him have been tried within the jail premises. I repeat that from October 2025 to Aug 18, 2026, no meetings with Imran Khan were allowed, so he was in solitary confinement, " he remarked.

Mr Raja asserted that Imran Khan was not even allowed to talk to anyone in the jail.

No facility is being given to him to punish him further. Imran has been separated from other co-accused persons and now his trial is being conducted through a video call created through a mobile phone.

"Imran Khan cannot communicate with his lawyers or advise them during trials. If the judge and lawyers went to Adiala jail, they would be able to communicate with Imran Khan, but even that is not being allowed, " he explained.

Sardar Latif Khosa remarked one of the greatest cricketers of all time was suffering in Pakistan.

Replying to questions, the PTI secretary general remarked there was unity within the party, contrary to rumours concerning rifts.

"We urge the Supreme Court to take notice of the disregard of its orders, " he remarked. Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2026.

Ikram Junaidi is a staff correspondent for Dawn with over 25 years of experience. As well as public health problems, he covers national politics, particularly opposition parties.

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