Islamabad, November 28, 2025: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has demanded an immediate clarification from the government over what it called “malicious rumours” circulating online about the health and safety of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. The party has also urged authorities to allow his family to meet him without further delay.
The demand comes amid growing concern after Imran’s sisters were repeatedly denied permission to visit him in Adiala jail in recent weeks. Their attempts to meet the PTI founder — including sit-ins outside the prison — have fuelled speculation on social media regarding his wellbeing. On Thursday morning, the hashtag #WhereIsImranKhan trended widely on X, accompanied by unverified claims about his condition, including allegations amplified by Indian media outlets.
In a statement issued early Thursday, the PTI said “rumours of a despicable nature” were being spread through “Afghan and Indian media and foreign social media accounts”. The party called on the government and the interior ministry to “immediately and clearly dismiss the rumour” and ensure a meeting between Imran and his family.
The party also demanded a “formal and transparent statement” from the state regarding Imran’s health, security and current status, warning that the “nation will not tolerate any uncertainty regarding the status of its leader.”
“The government is directly responsible for protecting Imran’s security, human rights and constitutional rights,” the statement said, adding that the PTI would pursue all “legal and political steps” to counter misinformation.
PTI leader Meher Bano Qureshi also expressed concern, saying the government must issue a clear update on the former premier’s condition. “The best, most credible way to put an end to these rumours is to allow Khan sahib’s sisters, lawyers and party members to meet him,” she said on X.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) rejected what it described as coordinated “false claims by Afghan and Indian social media” alleging that Imran had died in custody.
According to the ministry’s fact-checking unit, anonymous Afghan accounts circulated an unverified rumour claiming Imran had been killed in jail and his body moved. These claims were later picked up by Indian media, including Republic TV, which used two old images — from 2013 and 2022 — as supposed evidence.
The fact-checking cell said both Afghan accounts posted the rumour within 46 minutes of each other, suggesting a “coordinated attempt” to spark unrest. It added that neither account provided documentation, proof or verification.
The first image used in the posts was from 2013, when Imran suffered injuries after falling from a forklift stage during an election rally. The second image was from the November 2022 assassination attempt in Wazirabad.
The ministry said that despite PTI representatives telling Indian broadcasters that no such information existed, the rumours continued airing as a “developing story”. It said Indian media also misrepresented the routine, court-ordered family visitation schedule as “suspicious”, when jail meetings “follow judicial guidelines, not intelligence or law enforcement discretion”.
The fact-check account said the “timing, coordination, and rapid cross-border amplification suggest a deliberate attempt to create unrest within Pakistan.”
Separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif addressed a circulating video of Imran criticising Nawaz Sharif’s jail conditions, claiming that the PTI founder himself enjoyed considerable facilities in Adiala.
“He has a TV in his cell, food from outside, and even exercise machines,” Asif said, contrasting this with his own jail experience, which he described as harsh and basic. He alleged that Imran had “a double bed, velvet bedding” and that the jail superintendent personally tended to him.
Imran Khan, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2023, serving a sentence in the £190 million corruption case and facing several other cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests. PTI has repeatedly raised concerns about his health and safety during incarceration.
