Islamabad, March 18, 2026: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the children of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan are “welcome” to visit Pakistan using their National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), without the need for a visa.
Minister Tarar made the remarks on X in response to a post by Imran Khan’s former spouse, Jemima Goldsmith, who had appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding delays in issuing visas to their sons, Kasim and Sulaiman.
“Imran Khan’s phone call will be arranged on Eid day with his children as done in the past,” the minister added, emphasizing that the children would comply with all Pakistani laws during their stay.
Kasim and Sulaiman reside in London with their mother and have not seen their father, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, since 2022. Jemima Goldsmith highlighted that their visa applications, submitted in January, had yet to be processed despite assurances from senior officials, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Responding to the minister’s comments, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned the government’s delay, calling it a violation of basic human and family rights. The party stated that withholding contact between Imran Khan and his children, especially given concerns about his health, reflects “political victimisation” and is “immoral and unacceptable.”
The PTI urged the government to allow the former premier’s sons to meet their father without further delay, emphasizing that “sacrificing family relationships for political revenge cannot be condoned under any circumstances.”
