Imran Khan’s sons accuse Pakistan’s army chief of a vendetta as court ruling approaches

Family raises alarm over isolation

The sons of imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have accused army chief Asim Munir of pursuing a personal vendetta against their father. Kasim and Sulaiman Khan said they fear the former leader is being gradually harmed through isolation and restrictions on medical care, allegations that Pakistan's government rejects. Their intervention comes before a significant Supreme Court decision concerning access to Khan.

The brothers said they had been unable to speak with their father for more than six months and had faced obstacles to travelling to Pakistan for over nine months. Khan has been held at Adiala prison since 2023 and is serving a 14-year corruption sentence. His supporters describe the cases against him as politically motivated, while authorities maintain that judicial procedures are being followed.

Medical care becomes a legal test

Pakistan's Supreme Court is expected to rule on a contempt allegation linked to an earlier order that Khan receive treatment at a private hospital and have contact with relatives. The dispute intensified after doctors diagnosed a retinal-vein blood clot. His family says the condition has severely impaired his sight and that a short visit to a government hospital did not satisfy the court's directions.

The government disputes the portrait of deprivation. Officials say Khan receives appropriate food, exercise facilities, medical examinations and permitted visits. Those competing accounts make the court's ruling important beyond the immediate treatment question: it will test whether judicial access orders can be enforced in a case involving Pakistan's most prominent opposition politician and its powerful security establishment.

Pressure builds outside prison

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is preparing a nationwide march later in September, increasing the prospect of another confrontation between the opposition and the state. His sons' decision to speak publicly may energise supporters, but their allegations remain claims rather than independently established findings about the army chief's personal conduct.

International scrutiny predates the latest family statement. A United Nations working group concluded in 2024 that Khan's detention was arbitrary and requested an effective remedy, including release. Islamabad has not accepted that assessment. What follows will depend on the Supreme Court ruling, whether relatives and independent doctors obtain reliable access, and how authorities respond to PTI's planned mobilisation.