The legal team of PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi has approached United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Dr Alice J Edwards to urge the Pakistani government to cease the alleged mistreatment of the couple.
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 the former first lady.
Earlier this week, the party announced moving a petition before the Supreme Court regarding her health. In a statement, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram claimed that prison authorities were obstructing Bushra Bibi’s treatment despite her deteriorating health in defiance of court orders.
Last month, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking Imran’s monthly medical examinations from Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. It cited concerns over possible health complications for the 72-year-old founder of the party, who has reportedly lost weight during his detention.
In a post on X today, PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari said two formal urgent appeals were submitted to the UN special rapporteur on torture on Imran’s behalf by his sons — Sulaiman Khan and Kasim Khan — and on Bushra Bibi’s behalf by her sister.
A press release by international law firm Perseus Strategies said: “The filings request her to investigate their cases and press the Pakistani government to cease any further torture or ill-treatment of Mr and Mrs Khan immediately.”
It said the couple’s international legal team had previously secured a judgment from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UWGAD), finding Imran’s detention arbitrary, in violation of international law, politically motivated and calling for his immediate release.
“Both appeals detail a pattern of severe abuses in detention, including prolonged solitary confinement, physical abuse, denial of medical care, contaminated food and the persistent denial of access to legal counsel and family that together amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
“The filings emphasise that these acts violate Pakistan’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and they urge the special rapporteur to act swiftly to protect the physical and mental integrity of Mr and Mrs Khan,” the press release said.
It pointed out that Imran now faced a “cumulative 14-year prison sentence on fabricated charges”.
It added that despite the UNWGAD’s finding that his detention was arbitrary and intended to bar him from political life, Imran remained imprisoned under “inhuman conditions”.
“Mr Khan is currently confined at Adiala Jail in a tiny isolation cell with no natural light, an open toilet under 24-hour CCTV surveillance, and has endured severe sleep deprivation, extreme heat due to power cuts, grossly inadequate food and water, and other harsh conditions. He is also held at times in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more a day with no access to exercise or meaningful human contact.
“Mrs Khan, the former first lady of Pakistan, has likewise been targeted with politically motivated charges and sentenced to seven years in prison. Since her detention in 2024, she has been subjected to conditions of detention that amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including being served food contaminated with hydrochloric acid, confinement in unsanitary and insect-infested cells, denial of medical care and long periods of isolation. Her imprisonment is part of a campaign to break both her and her husband, and to apply psychological pressure on Imran Khan by targeting his wife.”
The press release quoted Jared Genser, international counsel to the couple, as saying that neither of them should be in prison in the first place, “let alone be subjected to torture and ill treatment”.
He further said: “This combination of illegal detention and horrific mistreatment is intolerable under international law, and the United Nations and governments worldwide must act now to protect their rights and secure their release.”
The law firm said that Imran had received “international recognition for the abuses he is facing while imprisoned”, saying that Amnesty International had warned of health risks given his age and conditions, and the US State Department had publicly stressed the importance of ensuring his safety in custody.
The firm said the UN special rapporteur on torture reported to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and had the authority to intervene when credible allegations of torture were presented, adding that the mandate included communicating with governments to demand they respect the right to physical and mental integrity of detainees, conducting fact-finding visits and submitting reports to both the UNHRC and the UN General Assembly.
“The United Nations has already found Imran Khan’s detention to be arbitrary and Mrs Khan’s imprisonment rests on equally spurious charges.
“Their continued solitary confinement, denial of adequate medical care and exposure to contaminated food all violate Pakistan’s binding obligations under international law. The government of Pakistan should take immediate steps to release Mr and Mrs Khan and improve the conditions of detention for all those still detained,” the press release quoted Jacob Bogart, international counsel to the couple, as saying.
The law firm said that the continued “arbitrary detention” of Imran and Bushra Bibi “threatens to deepen social and political divisions at a time when Pakistan faces a myriad internal and external challenges”. It argued that their release was “imperative not only because of the grave injustices they face, but for the sake of Pakistan’s stability and democratic progress”.
The firm pleaded that the UN should not turn away from the case and “should instead stand with Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi and democracy in Pakistan”.
The press release also quoted Bukhari as saying that in the filing the urgent appeals, “we are making clear that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are not forgotten.
“They are enduring unlawful imprisonment and degrading treatment, but they remain symbols of courage and peaceful resistance. The world must not look away — silence only emboldens those who seek to crush democracy in Pakistan.”
Separately, Kasim said his father was in prison because “he stood up for democracy”.
Reiterating his previous concerns about his father’s state, he said Imran was “held in solitary confinement, denied access to his doctors and restricted from meeting his lawyers and family.
“At the same time, members of his family and thousands of his supporters have been abducted or dragged before military courts. This is not justice — it is political revenge.
“Pakistan’s democracy is at stake, and I call on all who believe in human rights and democracy to stand with us so that the people’s voice is heard and the rule of law is restored.”
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