ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar said that he met the former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in jail on Monday to discuss their legal cases and health conditions inside prison.

Khan, 74, and his wife and spiritual guide Bushra Bibi were both sentenced to 17 years behind bars late last year. He has faced more than 100 legal cases since leaving office in April 2022, ranging from corruption allegations to charges related to violence by his supporters following his brief arrest in May 2023. All his convictions except a 14-year sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. Khan denies wrongdoing.

Khan’s party and family have accused the government of denying him access to his lawyers and restricting visits by his family members in prison. The government denies this.

In a post on social media platform X, Safdar said he met Khan and his wife for 40 mins at the central prison in Rawalpindi where they remain incarcerated. The lawyer said he was meeting Khan after seven months and Bibi after 11.

“Session was insufficient to cover all cases/legal matters,” the lawyer wrote. “Both briefed me on their health conditions, living conditions and gave fresh instructions for some legal matters and cases,” he added.

Khan’s health condition has also made headlines in the past, with Safdar telling the Supreme Court earlier this year that the former premier had lost most of the vision in his right eye. He has received eye treatment at a state-led hospital multiple times this year.

The meeting takes place as political tensions remain high in the country. Weeks earlier, the government of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was ousted in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province by the federal government.

Pakistan’s president imposed emergency and governor’s rule in the province last month, citing the provincial administration’s failure to tackle rising militant cases. Khan’s party rejects the government’s allegations, calling on the center to formulate a unified policy to tackle “terrorism.”

Following the imposition of governor’s rule, a crackdown was launched by the government against Khan supporters. His sisters and then-KP chief minister Sohail Afridi were taken into custody.

Khan’s party insists the center deposed his government in KP to thwart his party’s peaceful protest march to Islamabad. Thousands of Khan supporters, led by Afridi, were attempting to march to the capital to press for his release from prison when the government declared an emergency in the province and took Afridi into custody.

Khan’s PTI swept to power in 2018 and retains a large support base across key provinces, despite its founder in jail. Khan has blamed Pakistan’s military for orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote in April 2022, charges the institution denies.