Imran Khan in dark jail cell, no calls to sons, claims ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith

Jemima Goldsmith, the former wife of Pakistan’s jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, has levelled some serious allegations against the Shehbaz Sharif-led government. She claimed that her former husband was being kept in solitary confinement with authorities cutting off the electricity supply in his jail cell and was no longer allowed to make weekly calls to his sons.
Goldsmith’s allegations come as the Pakistan government is hosting the ongoing two-day SCO Summit in Islamabad, which has drawn top leaders from member states, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and turned the capital city into a fortress.
In the days leading to the summit, authorities also arrested hundreds of Imran Khan’s supporters who attempted to march in Islamabad, demanding his release.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Goldsmith, who was married to Imran Khan from 1995 to 2004, alleged that the Pakistani authorities have postponed all court hearings and also completely stopped visits by the former Prime Minister’s friends and family.
Khan is presently lodged at the Adilala Jail in Rawalpindi, following his arrest on August 5, 2023.
“In addition to cutting off in-person visits, and in defiance of a court order, his weekly calls to his sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, who are British and who live in London, were stopped on September 10,” she said, while referring to the couple’s two sons.
“We have received reports that the authorities have now turned off the lights and electricity in his cell and he is no longer allowed to leave his cell at any time. The jail cook has been sent on leave. He is now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world. His lawyers are concerned about his safety and well-being.”
Goldsmith further alleged that the Pakistan government was not only mistreating Imran Khan, but also other members of his family in an “attempt to silence them and all political opposition”.
“Imran’s nephew, Hassan Niazi, a civilian, has been detained in military custody since August 2023. More recently, Imran Khan’s sisters, Uzma and Aleema Khan, who have continued to speak out on his behalf, have also been arrested as they made their way peacefully to a demonstration, and they are currently being held in jail, despite there being no proper or lawful basis for their imprisonment,” she said, while calling for all of their release.

Jemima Goldsmith’s tweet.

Imran Khan, 72, served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote after falling out with the powerful military establishment considered Pakistan’s political kingmakers.
He currently faces numerous legal cases, with convictions in several of them.