Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Monday that meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan would remain suspended till February 8.
“Meetings with Khan will remain suspended till Feb 8,” the minister said while speaking on Geo News’ show Capital Talk, in reply to a question by the show’s host about whether meetings with Imran would remain suspended.
As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked, Imran’s family and party have expressed concerns about the conditions in which he is being kept inside the prison. A United Nations’ special rapporteur has also warned that Imran is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
Chaudhry maintained that the prison is “not the headquarters of a political party”, and criticised the PTI for “spreading venom against institutions and leaders of the institutions“.
The PML-N leader said that regular meetings were held between PTI leaders and its founder in Adiala jail in the past, and the government had no issues. However, he stated that the meetings then turned into political press conferences outside the prison, and the opposition party started to create narratives, which were then “run by Indian media”.
Responding to the minister, PTI‘s Barrister Ali Zafar said the the Constitution of the country considers solitary confinement akin to torture, adding the Chaudhry’s statement is against human rights, international and local laws.
“PTI asks party leaders and parliamentarians to gather outside Adiala prison to express solidarity with Khan, but the government uses water canons and violence against peaceful protesters.”
Last week, water cannons were used to disperse Imran‘s sisters, party leaders and PTI workers after they staged sit-ins outside the Adiala prison against the officials’ refusal to let them meet with the ex-premiere.
Zafar maintained that the PTI “will not back down till we meet with Khan”.
He elaborated that if the government considered the possibility of dialogue to break the current political impasse and was sincere about moving forward, then meetings with Imran would be part of the process.
Prison meetings with Imran used to plan PTI protests: Sanaullah
Prime Minister‘s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said prison meetings with Imran had been suspended because they were being used to plan and coordinate a large protest in Islamabad to mark the anniversary of the PTI’s November 26, 2024, march to the capital.
On November 26, 2024, Islamabad witnessed pitched battles between security forces and PTI supporters as the latter inched towards the heavily barricaded D-Chowk for the party’s ‘final call’ powershow, with intense teargas shelling used to disperse the protesters.
A late-night crackdown by the government ended in a hasty retreat of the PTI’s top leadership and supporters, following which the party abruptly suspended its protest movement.
Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’, Sanaullah said that the party founder and his sister were discussing preparations for a large protest on November 26 this year before the meetings were suspended.
“Before the meetings were stopped four or five weeks ago, they discussed that on November 26, 2025, they would arrange a programme of this sort to mark what happened on that day in 2024,” he stated.
“The preparations, messaging and strategic planning were discussed in these meetings, which is why we stopped them,”
The PM’s aide added that stopping the meetings had led to rumours about Imran’s condition while incarcerated, including reports of poor health, and clarified that the PTI founder had “every facility available to him.”
Sanaullah said that statements by Imran’s sister Aleema Khan were “not her own words” and claimed that the party founder had outlined what she should say during a meeting with another sister, Uzma Khan, several weeks earlier.
Responding to a question about the TTAP’s nationwide strike call on February 8 next year, the PM’s aide said there would be no wheel-jam strike in “any street or neighbourhood” anywhere in Pakistan.
“The PM has tried negotiations four times. I do not know whether he has presented the option again,” he added. “From the other side, based on the response we are getting, do you think they want to resolve this through talks?”
Referring to KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s call for a march to Islamabad, Sanaullah asked, “Why would they be permitted to protest in Islamabad? Does he have a legal basis? He says he is coming to Islamabad armed and that he will either conquer the city or return in a coffin. Is this in the national interest?”
“We’ll see what kind of protests they stage and how different they are,” he added. “Sohail Afridi cannot come down from Peshawar and take over the country.”
Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023.
The PTI has regularly raised concerns about his health and that of his wife. Imran’s son, Kasim Khan, expressed fear during a December 1 interview that authorities are concealing “something irreversible” about his father’s condition.
However, Uzma Khanum, Imran’s sister, said on December 2 that her incarcerated brother was “perfectly fine” after she was allowed to meet him, putting to rest rumours surrounding the former premier’s health.
In a short talk with the media after the meeting, she said, “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture.”
She added that Imran was confined to his cell throughout the day and was allowed only a short time outside. Uzma further said that he was not in communication with anyone, and the meeting between them lasted around 30 minutes.
Last Friday, a United Nations special rapporteur warned that Imran is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and called on Pakistani authorities to comply with international norms and standards.
Expressing grave concern over the report, the party said it exposed the “degrading treatment” of party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan during his incarceration at Adiala Jail and amounted to a “blatant violation of international law and fundamental human rights.”
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