Jemima Goldsmith urges UK govt to intervene over Imran Khan’s rights

Jemima Goldsmith, Imran Khan's former wife, has called on the British government to intervene over the former prime minister’s treatment in Pakistan, urging it to uphold his fundamental rights in accordance with directives issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In a post on X on Monday, Jemima demanded that "Pakistan comply with its own Supreme Court; restore Imran Khan’s medical access, his right to see his family, end his prolonged isolation and uphold his fundamental human rights.” She directly addressed Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, asking: “How much longer will Britain remain silent?” She alleged that Imran, who has been imprisoned for three years, had been subjected to prolonged isolation and denied regular contact with his family, as well as access to books, lawyers and doctors. Jemima claimed that Imran had spent three years in solitary confinement and that his family had been denied contact with him for nearly 10 months. She cited the United Nations’ Nelson Mandela Rules, which set standards for the treatment of prisoners, and said human rights standards were “unequivocal” on prolonged solitary confinement. According to the rules, she said, solitary confinement exceeding 15 consecutive days was prohibited. Jemima further said the Supreme Court had intervened by ordering comprehensive medical treatment for Imran, access to his personal doctor, regular family visits and twice-weekly calls with his sons. “Yet those orders are being defied,” she said, describing the situation as “a human-rights emergency”. She argued that the issue had gone beyond Pakistan’s domestic politics and called on Britain to speak out “publicly and unequivocally”. Also Read: Jemima accuses govt of refusing sons' visas to deny UK protection in case of possible arrest Jemima also highlighted Imran’s longstanding ties to Britain, noting that he studied at Oxford University, captained the university cricket team and spent several years playing county cricket. “His relationship with this country [Britain] stretches back more than half a century,” she said. She also pointed to his charitable work, including the establishment of Pakistan’s first free cancer hospital and a university. Jemima made a personal appeal on behalf of her sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, saying they were watching their father’s health deteriorate from thousands of miles away. She said the two had been prevented from visiting Imran, denied visas and publicly threatened by government officials with arrest. She also claimed they had been denied court-mandated regular phone calls with their father. “The previous Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed me in writing that Britain would not intervene if my sons, British citizens, are arrested when they travel to Pakistan to visit their father,” she said. She concluded her appeal by invoking Britain’s longstanding human rights principles and its relationship with Pakistan as a Commonwealth country. “Pakistan is a Commonwealth country. Britain has a long and proud tradition of standing against arbitrary detention, inhumane treatment and the denial of fundamental rights,” she wrote. “Those principles mean very little if we invoke them only selectively and neglect them when inconvenient.”