ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The United Nations’ (UN) special rapporteur has warned that former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan is being held under conditions that may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment intensifying global scrutiny over the treatment of high-profile political detainees in Pakistan. Alice Jill Edwards, the UN official, urged Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s detention fully complies with international norms and to lift his solitary confinement immediately.
According to reports, since his transfer to Adiala Jail on September 26, 2023, Khan, 73, has spent up to 23 hours a day in solitary confinement under constant camera surveillance, with severely restricted access to the outside world. The UN statement followed a September request from Khan’s legal team, who raised concerns over alleged mistreatment of both him and his family.
However, the Pakistani government has dismissed these claims. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s aide, Rana Ihsan Afzal, insisted that Khan was being held according to prison rules and provided facilities exceeding those of a B-class prisoner. His children have access; exercise facilities and good food are available; and there is ample space in his cell. There is no obstacle from the government in terms of communication, he said.
The controversy has spilled into the digital sphere. Khan’s ex-wife, Jemima Goldsmith, alleged on X (formerly Twitter) that the platform’s algorithm deliberately throttled posts about his detention, including her own. Citing data from X’s AI tool, Grok, she claimed that between 2023 and early 2024 her posts averaged 400–900 million monthly impressions, but from May 2025 onward, impressions fell to just 28.6 million a drop of over 97 percent. Goldsmith directly appealed to X CEO Elon Musk, calling for the removal of the secret throttling and protection of lawful political expression.
Khan, imprisoned since August 2023 in a £190 million corruption case, also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests. Supporters allege that he is denied proper access to lawyers and family members, prompting multiple protests and sit-ins outside Adiala Jail. His son, Kasim Khan, expressed fear in a recent interview that authorities may be concealing something irreversible regarding his father’s condition.
Meanwhile, Khan’s sister, Uzma Khanum, who met him on December 2, said he was perfectly fine physically but added that he is subjected to “mental torture” due to confinement. She described the visit as brief, lasting around 30 minutes, during which she observed that he had limited interaction and was confined to his cell for most of the day.
The UN special rapporteur emphasized that the treatment of political prisoners is a matter of international concern, particularly when solitary confinement is prolonged and access to family, lawyers, and outside communication is restricted. The warning, combined with social media suppression claims, has drawn international attention to Pakistan’s handling of political detainees and the broader implications for human rights standards in the country.