Adiala Jail confirms Imran Khan alive, rejects claims of relocation

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is alive and remains at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, the city’s prison authorities said on Wednesday, firmly shutting down viral claims that the country’s most polarising political figure had either been moved in secret or had died in custody.

The rebuttal came after a wave of online posts, including from a number of India-linked websites and social media accounts, suggested without evidence that Khan’s health had worsened and that authorities were hiding his death. The rumours gained unusual traction, prompting families of PTI supporters and other citizens to demand clarity across messaging groups and discussion forums.

Senior prison officials responded with an unusually public statement: Khan had not been shifted, was not unwell and was receiving proper medical checks. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention,” the statement read. The jail added that his wellbeing was being monitored as part of routine procedures.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesperson Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari said the denial did little to answer the core complaint from the family: the right to meet Khan. He alleged that the former premier had been kept alone for six weeks and that court orders for visitation were being ignored.

Bukhari also claimed the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had tried seven times to see Khan but was turned away during each attempt. His sisters, he said, were again seated outside the jail gates on Wednesday, insisting the rules mattered.

“Family visitation is a legal right, not a favour,” he said, adding that the sit-in by Khan’s sisters was not just political theatre, but a personal plea. He said their presence was a reminder that ‘Pakistan Prison Rules’ clearly state that access cannot be paused without a lawful reason.

The prison authorities pushed back at these allegations, saying all meetings were subject to jail protocols and security guidelines, and no isolation outside the norm had been enforced.

Khan has been in custody since August 2023, following convictions in corruption, state secrets and marriage-related cases. All the charges are disputed by him, and his legal team continues to argue that the rulings were shaped by politics rather than evidence.

His time in jail has sparked protests, mass arrests of party workers and repeated court challenges. Rights groups in Pakistan and abroad have pressed for transparent legal processes and fair treatment for Khan and other detainees linked to his cases.

International human rights organisations have previously raised questions about shrinking political space, legal safeguards and prison conditions for high-profile political defendants.

Despite the dramatic claims online, Khan’s status is unchanged: he is still in Adiala Jail and is medically cleared by the authorities, but his party maintains that access for his family is overdue and continues to be unfairly restricted.