ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan will not accept any negotiated arrangement with authorities to secure his release, his sister Aleema Khanum said this week, rejecting renewed speculation of a possible political “deal” as tensions escalate between his party and the government over his health and imprisonment.
The question of a negotiated exit has resurfaced in Pakistan’s political debate in recent weeks following reports about Khan’s medical condition, protests by supporters and comments by government officials referring to past efforts to explore a settlement.
Khan, 73, has been in jail since August 2023 following convictions he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party say are politically motivated. He was removed from office in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, which he alleges was orchestrated by political rivals with backing from the military, accusations both the government and armed forces deny.
Amid the renewed speculation, Khanum rejected the idea her brother would agree to any compromise.
“His intention was never to do deals. He hates the… if anybody suggests to him, he gets very upset,” Khanum told Arab News during an interview at Khan’s Bani Gala residence on Tuesday.
Quoting her brother, she said: “I’ll die in jail, but I will not bow my head.”
HEALTH DISPUTE
Political tensions have sharpened after a Supreme Court-appointed lawyer reported this month that Khan had suffered “severe vision loss” in his right eye due to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), leaving him with about 15 percent sight in the affected eye.
A team of government doctors examined Khan in prison on Sunday and said his condition was improving. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused Khan’s party and family of “cashing in” on the issue.
Khanum disputed the government’s handling of the medical situation, saying her brother had complained of pressure in his eye for months and temporarily lost vision earlier this year.
“There’s no proper facility over there [Adiala Jail],” she said. “Even regular prisoners are taken to a hospital if they’re not well.”
She alleged authorities initially tried to administer a sensitive eye injection inside Adiala before transferring him to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where the procedure was carried out.
Officials say they were willing to allow further examination at Shifa International Hospital but the family imposed conditions that delayed treatment. Khanum said the government “dismantled” arrangements by refusing to allow his personal physician Dr. Aasim Yusuf and a family member to witness examinations.
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has said he was satisfied after speaking to doctors who treated Khan, but Khanum insisted only his personal doctor should manage his care.
“Gohar is not a doctor. If you told me that I’ve treated somebody, you and I won’t understand either,” she said.
“Why do we go to doctors then?”
PRISON CONDITIONS AND PROTESTS
Khanum said her brother is held in an 8-by-10 foot cell with limited ventilation, though he spends time reading and exercising.
“He says he gets enough nutrition and exercise,” she said, adding summer heat makes conditions difficult.
The government says Khan, as a high-profile prisoner, is under constant monitoring and medical supervision.
Khan’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman, who live in the United Kingdom, have applied for visas to visit him but have yet to receive approval, she said.
“They applied last July and again on Jan. 15,” she said. “It’s a visa they should get in one hour and they still haven’t given them.”
She said the two spoke to their father by phone last week but the call repeatedly dropped.
“He told them about his eye,” Khanum said. “He was disturbed.”
