A long-running dispute over the treatment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan inside Adiala Jail has resurfaced, with prison authorities pushing back publicly against claims from the party that the former prime minister is being held in isolation and denied adequate access to family and legal counsel. Jail officials say Khan, who has been in custody since August 2023, is housed in a secure seven-cell area with access to an open courtyard for daily exercise, along with an exercise cycle, a television, newspapers and reading material of his choosing.

According to the Adiala Jail superintendent, a designated prisoner prepares Khan’s meals according to his preferences, and jail medical staff examine him three times a day, with recent reports describing his health as good and within normal ranges. Officials say Khan has received two hours of daily physical activity in line with B-Class prisoner privileges and that, over a recent three-month period, some 66 individuals including family members, lawyers and PTI leaders were permitted to visit him. The administration has described its arrangements for Khan as exceeding standard B-Class norms and has rejected suggestions of mistreatment or solitary confinement as baseless.

PTI has told a different story for much of the past year, with senior leaders including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi repeatedly denied permission to meet Khan despite an Islamabad High Court order permitting twice-weekly visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Afridi staged a sit-in outside the jail after being turned away on multiple occasions, and Khan’s sister Aleema Khan has filed a contempt petition against jail officials, alleging that the court’s directives have been ignored for months at a time. Party leaders have also alleged that jail authorities misled the Islamabad High Court regarding power of attorney documentation connected to the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were previously convicted.

The dispute has periodically spilled into public alarm, including unverified reports circulating on social media, some traced to Afghan-based accounts, claiming Khan had died in custody. PTI senators and officials have moved quickly on each occasion to say Khan remains alive, while accusing the state of using prolonged isolation as a pressure tactic to influence his political conduct or, in some accounts from party figures, to encourage him to leave the country. Jail authorities have consistently denied any such intent, insisting that facilities and visitation are being managed within the bounds of the law and prison regulations.

The National Assembly has also become a venue for the dispute, with PTI moving a privilege motion over what it describes as the use of force against party workers protesting outside the jail, and Rawalpindi police reportedly seeking legal guidance on whether to register cases against demonstrators involved in sit-ins near the facility. PTI’s leadership remains divided on how long such protests should continue, with some senior figures warning that prolonged sit-ins outside Adiala could complicate Khan’s situation rather than improve it.

Khan is currently serving a fourteen-year sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust case, in addition to sentences arising from separate convictions related to state gifts, and continues to face multiple other cases moving through Pakistan’s courts. With no clear resolution to the standoff over visitation rights in sight, the dispute over conditions at Adiala Jail looks set to remain a recurring flashpoint between PTI and the government for the foreseeable future.

Compiled by the Weekly PK Staff Desk.