Imran Khan says undergoing ‘harshest prison term’ in Pakistan’s history

Lahore: Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he is undergoing the “harshest prison term” in the country’s history.

Khan, 72, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 in multiple cases.

“I am enduring the harshest prison term in the country’s history solely for the supremacy of the Constitution and in service of my nation,” he was quoted as saying in a post uploaded on his verified X handle.

“The level of oppression and authoritarianism is such that even the water I have for ablution is filthy and contaminated with dirt, unfit for any human being,” Khan alleged.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder alleged the books sent to him by his family have been withheld for months and access to television and newspapers has also been suspended.

“I



have spent countless hours re-reading the same old books, but now even those are no longer available,” he said.

Khan asserted that no political leader in Pakistan’s history has faced the kind of treatment he is currently experiencing.

He contrasted this with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who, despite being involved in several corruption cases, “was granted every possible comfort” during his imprisonment.

Khan emphasised that his wife, Bushra Bibi, who is “innocent” and not involved in politics, is being subjected to “inhumane conditions” in prison.

The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician further alleged that all his basic human rights have been violated. Even the minimum facilities accorded to ordinary prisoners under the law and the jail manual are denied to him.