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Islamabad police deny allegation of 'sexual abuse' of ex-PM Khan aide in custody

The screengrab taken from PTI's Twitter account shows Islamabad police escorting Shahbaz Gill to prison van after a court hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan, on August 19, 2022. (PTI/Twitter)
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Updated 19 August 2022
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Islamabad police deny allegation of 'sexual abuse' of ex-PM Khan aide in custody

  • Islamabad police deny allegation of 'sexual abuse' of ex-PM Khan aide in custody
  • Gill has been in custody since last Tuesday for comments deemed as ‘seditious’ by the authorities
Updated 19 August 2022
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police on Friday denied the allegations of “torture” of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s chief of staff, Dr Shahbaz Gill, which Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says also included “sexual abuse” and has announced a protest rally against it in Islamabad on Saturday. 

Gill, a senior member of Khan’s PTI party, has been under arrest since last Tuesday for comments he made during a news bulletin that the national electronic media regulator dubbed as “seditious.” 

The PTI leader was admitted to Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a check-up late Wednesday, while a district court in Islamabad on Friday suspended his physical remand and ordered police to keep him in hospital until Monday. 

In a Twitter post on Friday evening, Khan accused the Islamabad police of subjecting Gill to "sexual abuse," but the police denied the allegation and described it as “absurd.” 

"We have repeatedly rejected all these allegations," Taqi Jawad, Islamabad police director for public relations, told Arab News Friday evening. 

"Shahbaz Gill isn't tortured in police custody and allegation of sexual abuse is totally absurd. These allegations should be avoided as they can cause public unrest." 

On Friday evening, Khan and other senior members of his party tried meeting Gill at the hospital, but they were barred by the police. It followed an announcement by Khan of the rally to protest alleged torture of his chief of staff. 

"I want to convey a message to my entire nation that tomorrow, I am holding a rally in Islamabad for Shahbaz Gill," the former premier told reporters outside the PIMS hospital. 

"I invite all the people of Islamabad to my rally because if a political worker can be subjected to such torture, then anyone can be subjected to it." 

In a Twitter post, Khan said the Islamabad police had subjected Gill to "sexual abuse" in order to “break him down.” 

"All the pictures & videos show clearly Gill was tortured both mentally & physically incl sexual abuse - most too gruesome to relate. He was humiliated to break him down. I now have full detailed info," the former premier said. 

 

Also on Friday, Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog headquartered in the United Kingdom, said it was "concerned" about the torture allegations levelled by Gill's lawyers and called for an impartial inquiry into the matter. 

"Amnesty International is concerned about the allegations of torture being made by the lawyers of @SHABAZGIL, and calls for an immediate, effective and impartial inquiry investigating these claims," the global watchdog said on Twitter. 

 

Last Friday, after Gill had been in police custody for two days, a court sent him to jail on judicial remand, rejecting a request by the police to extend the suspect’s physical remand. But in a rare move on Wednesday, a local court remanded Gill back into police custody. 

A government prosecutor had argued that Gill needed to be remanded in police custody for an additional two days so that police could complete their investigation into a sedition case filed against him. The PTI leader was admitted to PIMS hospital after the Islamabad police took over his custody following the court order.  

Earlier today, the Islamabad police said on Twitter Gill was "pretending to be ill under false pretences." 

 

“After reviewing the reports and opinions from cardiologist and psychiatrist, patient [Gill] is clinically stable,” a six-member medical board of senior doctors said in its report dated August 18. “Although he is a known case of bronchial asthma, currently he has no signs of exacerbation of acute asthma.” 

“Pulmonologist advised and discharged on medication,” the report, a copy of which is available with Arab News, said. 

Video footage made outside a local court on Friday and widely shared on social media showed Gill in a wheelchair, surrounded by policemen, and saying “I can’t breathe.” 

The case against the Khan aide relates to comments made on ARY News last Monday asking army officers not to follow orders of their top command if they were “against the sentiments of the masses.” 

The country’s national media regulator described the statement as “seditious” and said it was tantamount to inciting revolt within the military. The regulator also issued a show-cause notice to the channel, ARY News, for airing the “illegal” content. The channel has since been off air.

Topics: Shahbaz Gill islamabad police PIMS

IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan

Updated 11 December 2025
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IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan

  • Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
  • Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
Updated 11 December 2025
Ismail Dilawar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.

The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.

Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.

The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.

“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.

But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.

The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.

The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.

Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.

Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.

The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.

The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.

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