Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has firmly ruled out the possibility of his sons visiting Pakistan or taking part in any protest, as speculation swirled over their involvement in the party’s upcoming anti-government campaign.
Speaking from Adiala Jail, where he has been incarcerated since August 2023, Khan told reporters, “My sons will not be coming to Pakistan. They will neither be part of any protest nor will they lead any protest.” His clear statement came in response to comments made by his sister, Aleema Khan, who had earlier claimed that Suleman Khan (28) and Kasim Khan (26) were preparing to join the PTI protest movement planned for August 5.
The PTI protest movement, which has been gaining momentum over the past weeks, is aimed at securing Khan’s release from jail. The campaign, launched formally after a top-level party meeting in Lahore, is expected to peak on August 5—marking two years since Khan's imprisonment following his ouster via a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Khan’s sons were recently in the United States, where they reportedly met with U.S. lawmakers to lobby for their father's release. However, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan clarified that the party has no formal communication with them. “It’s their personal right to meet their father, but they are not involved in any party-led protest,” he added.
In June, Kasim Khan publicly expressed concern for his father's well-being, breaking his silence on the matter. Posting on X, he wrote, “My father, former prime minister Imran Khan, has now spent over 700 days in prison—held in solitary confinement. He is denied access to his lawyers, not allowed visits from his family, fully cut off from us, and even his personal doctor is refused entry. This is not justice.”
Since his arrest, Imran Khan has been facing a slew of charges ranging from corruption to terrorism. His party’s negotiations with the government—including talks over forming a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 riots and the November 2024 Islamabad protest—have since broken down.
