'Hypertension, Heart Problems': Former Pak PM Imran Khan Being Subjected To Torture in Adiala Jail, Allege Sister and Doctor

Islamabad: Former Pakistani Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan is enduring severe mistreatment and prolonged isolation in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, his sister Dr Uzma Khan alleged on Friday, accusing authorities of denying him basic facilities and adequate medical care for nearly 10 months.

Khan, who has been incarcerated since 2023 and is serving a 14-year sentence linked to the Toshakhana case, met his sister during a late-night transfer for a medical check-up. Addressing a press conference at Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, Uzma said her brother repeatedly described his conditions as “severe injustice and torture.”

“Imran repeatedly said that they had been treating him very unjustly for the past 10 months,” she said. “He told me to go and tell everyone that they were committing severe injustice and torture against him… This is not human,” she added.

According to Uzma, jail authorities have withheld television and reading material throughout this period. The resulting lack of human contact, she said, has taken a toll on his mental health. Khan reported episodes of palpitations, fluctuating blood pressure, hypertension and anxiety to prison doctors, yet those complaints were ignored, she claimed.

During the meeting, medical staff recorded Khan’s blood pressure at a normal 120/80. Uzma described her brother as physically “completely fit,” while conveying his comparison of his solitary confinement to the treatment of late Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Khan told her a doctor had linked his hypertension to prolonged isolation.

Uzma recounted being summoned to Adiala Jail around 8:30 pm on Thursday. After an initial stop at the office of a deputy superintendent, she was taken in a small vehicle to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. Officials kept the destination secret despite her repeated questions, she said, and appeared to stall by moving them between locations.

At PIMS, personnel administered an injection to one of Khan’s eyes and bandaged the other after inquiring about his eye drops. The visit ended around the Fajr call to prayer, after which both were returned to Adiala Jail. Khan’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, arrived at the prison shortly afterwards in a separate vehicle but was not allowed to examine or meet his patient. He had earlier been kept waiting at a hospital only for Khan to be driven away without a consultation or blood tests, the family said.

Uzma and the family disputed official accounts that Khan was examined at Shifa International Hospital, insisting the transfer was to PIMS and that no proper diagnosis or tests took place.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, speaking at the same press conference, announced that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would file a contempt petition in court over the alleged non-implementation of a Supreme Court order on Khan’s medical treatment.

Earlier reports indicated Khan was moved under maximum security for a brief evaluation in line with court directives before being returned to Adiala Jail before daybreak. Prison medical filings had noted concerns over fluctuating blood pressure and related symptoms.

The allegations mark the latest in a series of claims by Khan’s family and party regarding his conditions of detention. Authorities have not immediately responded to the specific accusations of torture and denial of facilities.