Labor Party member Baroness Alexander says the discussion is timely given Imran’s ‘deteriorating welfare’
A debate is underway in the UK House of Lords on the detention and health of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan
Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala prison in a £190m corruption case. He also faces pending proceedings under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) related to the May 9, 2023 protests.
Opening the debate, Labor Party member Baroness Alexander of Cleveden said the discussion was timely given Imran’s “deteriorating welfare”, citing concerns over his health, conditions of detention, access to medical care, denial of family visits and recurring questions regarding access to the courts.
The debate comes a day after Kasim Khan, son of the PTI founder, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and urged the body to intervene and press the Pakistani government for the immediate release of his father.
Read: Kasim calls on UNHRC to intervene to end Imran’s persecution, detention immediately
The former prime minister’s sons have not seen him since November 2022 after an assassination attempt. They said they applied for a visa in January this year but have yet to receive a response.
However, the PTI founder was allowed to call his sons from Adiala Jail on Eid day and talk to them for about 25 to 30 minutes. During the call, his sons inquired about his health, while Imran expressed happiness to speak with them on the festive occasion. He was taken out of the compound to a special room for the call and returned to the compound afterwards.
Last week, Jemima Goldsmith, Imran’s ex-wife, appealed directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to allow their sons to visit their father in prison.
In response, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Imran’s sons do not require visas to visit Pakistan to meet their father, to which Jemima replied that the government was denying visas to their sons, in an attempt to deprive them of British protection in the event of a possible arrest on arrival in Pakistan.
