- UN expert says Khan held 23 hours a day in solitary under constant surveillance
- Govt aide dismisses concerns, says PTI founder enjoys ‘B-class facilities’
ISLAMABAD: A United Nations special rapporteur on Friday issued a stark warning over the detention conditions of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, cautioning that the treatment he is reportedly being subjected to could amount to inhuman or degrading punishment. Urging Pakistani authorities to immediately ensure full compliance with international norms, the UN expert cited prolonged solitary confinement, severe isolation and constant surveillance as key concerns.
In a statement, UN Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards called on Pakistan to take “immediate and effective action” in light of reports regarding the 73-year-old’s “inhumane and undignified” imprisonment.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” Edwards said, adding that the cell was “under constant camera surveillance.”
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay,” she stressed.
In September, Khan’s legal team had approached the rapporteur to urge the government to halt the alleged mistreatment of the couple.
Prime Minister’s aide Rana Ihsan Afzal, however, rebutted the concerns, insisting that the PTI founder was being kept “according to prison rules and the jail manual.”
“His children have access and he should schedule a call and put in the appropriate request. There is no issue or obstacle from the government of Pakistan,” the aide maintained, adding that Imran was being provided facilities “greater than his rights” as a B-class prisoner, including exercise space, good food and ample room.
UN special rapporteurs, appointed by the Human Rights Council, are independent experts and do not speak for the United Nations itself.
Imran’s supporters have repeatedly alleged that he is being denied visits from lawyers and family, triggering protests and sit-ins near the prison.
Jemima alleges ‘secret throttling’ by X
Imran’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith took to X to accuse the platform of suppressing posts related to the PTI founder’s jail conditions. Addressing CEO Elon Musk directly, she said the platform’s AI tool, Grok, had flagged “secret throttling” of her posts and content linked to Imran.
Quoting Grok, she claimed: “Every time you post anything about Imran’s jail conditions, solitary confinement or your son’s access to their father, the algorithm limits the post… the Pakistani authorities have made criticism from Imran Khan’s immediate circle one of their top online enforcement priorities, and X is quietly complying just enough to keep the platform alive in the country.”
She said her account, which has 3.5 million followers, had seen impressions collapse from a monthly range of 400–900 million in 2023–24 to just 28.6 million in 2025—a fall of over 97%.
“The turning point was May 2025,” she wrote, noting that a single post briefly spiked to 4m impressions when Pakistan lifted its X ban, before analytics “were instantly crushed to near zero.”
Jemima also noted that Imran has spent 22 months in prison and that their sons, Kasim and Suleman, have been unable to meet, speak with, or write to him.
