Imran Khan alleges 'threat to life' in Adiala Jail, claims death‑row‑like conditions

Former Pakistani prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan on Tuesday said he fears for his life as he remains lodged in Adiala Jail, where he is serving a 14-year sentence in the Al‑Qadir Trust graft case along with other corruption-related convictions that keep him in custody.

“The military establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now murder me," Khan said, according to a PTI statement released after his sister Uzma Khan met him inside the high‑security prison. He alleged that he is being held in conditions similar to those reserved for an inmate on death row.

“If anything happens to me, the Army Chief and DG ISI will be responsible," he said. “I have the same facilities that an inmate on death row has."

The PTI claimed Khan has been kept in solitary confinement with no electricity or sunlight, questionable food, no clean drinking water, no medical assistance and none of the basic facilities normally available to inmates. The party called the conditions inhumane.

Khan said, “I was tortured by being confined in a cage and treated worse than animals. Electricity to my cell was shut off for five days. I was confined to the cell for ten days." Accusing the army chief of political persecution, he added, “Asim Munir is the most tyrannical dictator in history and is mentally unstable."

Uzma Khan was permitted to meet her brother for the first time in more than a month, amid an unannounced ban on prison visits and rising speculation about Khan’s health. The meeting, held inside Adiala Jail—located near the Pakistan Army’s GHQ—lasted between 25 and 35 minutes. People close to her said Imran Khan appeared “fine, fit, and in high spirits." They added that he remained mentally strong and conveyed a message for party leadership, along with remarks directed at what he termed an “undemocratic regime." However, Uzma said Khan was angry over issues related to jail administration.

Speaking to the media after her visit, Uzma said, “Praise be to Allah! His health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture." She claimed Khan told her he was being “mentally tortured” because he is kept inside his cell for most of the day and allowed out only briefly. “He was not allowed to communicate with anybody," she said.

Adiala Jail authorities, however, maintained that Khan is in “good health.” He has been imprisoned since August 2023 in multiple cases.

The ban on family meetings had triggered public outrage, with the PTI saying Uzma was allowed to meet him only after large numbers of supporters gathered outside Adiala Jail. Meanwhile, the Punjab government deployed the entire Rawalpindi police force along Adiala Road to prevent PTI protests. Section 144, which bans gatherings of four or more people, has already been imposed in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to officials, “an eight‑kilometre stretch has been completely sealed. Schools and colleges are closed. Residents are being required to show their ID card to pass through the area." A group of lawyers also staged a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court against the government for keeping Khan in isolation.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said compliance with Section 144 would be enforced “at any cost.” “Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” he said.

Earlier, Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan demanded proof of his father’s wellbeing. “We demand proof of (Imran Khan)'s life,” he said in a post on X.

Khan’s party has warned of nationwide protests if his sisters are not allowed to meet him. They have also warned that if anything happens to the PTI founder, “those involved and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad.”