Aleema terms reports of Imran's meeting with ex-army chief 'totally fake'

Aleema Khan, the sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, on Monday dismissed reports about the former premier’s meeting with an ex-army chief at Adiala jail as “totally fake”.

“All the news circulating on social media that a former army chief met Imran Khan in Adiala jail are fake,” she said in a post on the social media platform X.

She said the claims had been verified with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, who also confirmed that “this is totally fake”.

“It is disinformation, especially spread to distract from the fact that Imran is being tortured through total isolation,” she said. She added that the claims were an attempt to distract from Imran not being provided proper treatment for his eye condition, not being allowed to speak to his sons, not being provided books for the past six months and not having access to television in his cell.

“He has not been allowed contact with anyone from the outside world in the past 6 months, except two visits by his lawyer on the orders of the court,” she said.

“There is a full bench court order that allows for at least 18 people to visit him every week. Six family members and six lawyers on Tuesdays, and six party members on Thursdays,” she said, adding that the concerns she stated were Imran’s “lawful rights, under Pakistan’s laws and the International laws”.

The statement from Aleema comes after social media chatter over the weekend about a former army chief meeting with Imran at Adiala jail, where the latter is incarcerated.

Imran has been in jail since August 2023. He has been sentenced to 14 years in a £190 million corruption case and 17 years in the Toshakhana-2 case.

He underwent a medical procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad on the night of January 24 — a development confirmed by the government days later amid an apparent lack of knowledge by the family. He has since been undergoing follow-up treatments at Pims.

Imran’s family has also alleged that his sons, Kasim and Suleiman, are not allowed to speak to him on the phone and have accused the government of deliberately delaying the issuance of their visas; the two live in London with Imran’s ex-wife.

Amid these developments, the PTI regularly stages sit-ins outside Adiala jail on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the court-mandated days for meetings with Imran, which have remained largely suspended in recent months. Aleema and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on May 20 that shots were fired at participants as the party staged yet another sit-in outside the jail.