 "A supporter of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan holds his poster during a gathering by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to observe Martyrs' Day to honour those who allegedly died during last month's protest, in Peshawar on December 15, 2024. (Photo: Abdul Majeed/AFP)")
Uzma Khanum, sister of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, met him on Tuesday and said he was physically fit but had been tortured mentally.
“Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture,” Uzma told the media and supporters of Imran’s Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) after the meeting, according to Dawn.
Amid swirling rumours of death, allegations of torture, and concerns about his health, Uzma was on Tuesday allowed to meet Imran at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
Uzma went inside the jail to meet Imran as scores of supporters gathered outside the jail. She was the first person to meet Imran in 29 days. Authorities had not provided any reason to deny court-mandated visitation, leading to speculation about his health and condition in jail.
Uzma was allowed to meet Imran as PTI supporters had gathered in scores in Rawalpindi in protest against the authorities’ repeated denials to grant access to him.
Last week, sources close to Imran in PTI told CNN-News 18 that Imran has been tortured in jail and kept in near-complete isolation. They said that has been beaten and subjected to high-intensity confinement.
Separately, Imran’s former aide, Zulfi Bukhari, previously said that Imran has not been seen by anyone since November 4 and there had been no update about his whereabouts or health. He further said that no reason has been provided for denying meetings to his family and party members.
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Amid prohibitive orders, PTI held protests in Rawalpindi and nearby Islamabad.
Dawn reported PTI leader Asad Qaiser as saying that Opposition lawmakers from both houses of parliament had planned to hold protest outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) before taking their demonstration to Adiala jail.
“It has been decided to hold protests because IHC has failed to implement its order and the Adiala jail administration is not willing to implement the court orders,” said Qaiser.
Separately, PTI’s unit in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the party runs the provincial government, announced the blockade of the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway Interchange for a rally in Imran’s support.
Another PTI leader told Dawn that the party might suspend the traffic between Islamabad and Peshawar by blocking the motorway in protest against blocking access to Imran.