Pakistan is facing mounting international pressure, including UN intervention, over allegations that former prime minister Imran Khan is being subjected to prolonged solitary confinement in Adiala Jail amounting to psychological torture.
Pakistan is facing rising international and domestic pressure over allegations that former Prime Minister Imran Khan is being held in prolonged solitary confinement amounting to psychological torture.
Pakistan is facing intense international scrutiny over the detention conditions of former prime minister Imran Khan, with growing allegations that his prolonged solitary confinement in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail violates international human rights standards. Domestic political figures, family members and international watchdogs have raised concerns that his isolation may amount to psychological torture, prompting calls for immediate intervention.
The controversy has escalated amid claims by Khan’s close aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Muhammad Sohaib Afridi that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are being subjected to harsh and degrading treatment in jail. Afridi said he has been denied permission to meet Khan for the 10th time by the Adiala jail administration, further fuelling criticism over transparency and access.
The prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, said the meeting was denied on the basis of “intelligence reports”, alleging that Khan intended to “orchestrate another event similar to the November 26 protests in Islamabad”. The explanation has done little to quell domestic alarm, particularly as Khan’s close aide Dr Salman Ahmed has publicly accused army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir of carrying out illegal actions against the former prime minister.
International concern and UN intervention
Domestic criticism has coincided with formal intervention by international human rights bodies and legal advocacy groups, who have written to Islamabad expressing concern over Khan’s solitary confinement and restricted legal access. Diplomatic backchannels indicate that friendly capitals have “quietly raised” the issue, warning that continued isolation could damage Pakistan’s human rights standing at multilateral forums.
Global watchdogs have cautioned that “isolating a former elected prime minister carries serious democratic and psychological implications”. The strongest condemnation came from the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, who urged Pakistan to take “immediate and effective action” in response to reports of “inhumane and undignified detention conditions”.
Edwards said that “prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law”, adding that when isolation exceeds 15 days, it “constitutes a form of psychological torture”. “Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay,” she said, warning of “very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health”.
Since his transfer to Adiala Jail on September 26, 2023, Khan has reportedly been confined for 23 hours a day, with severely limited contact with the outside world. According to information received by the special rapporteur, he is not allowed outdoor activity or interaction with other detainees and cannot join communal prayers. Family and legal visits are described as being “frequently interrupted or ended prematurely”. At 73, Khan also suffers from significant health issues, including a serious spinal injury and gunshot wounds from a 2022 assassination attempt, and has reportedly been denied adequate medical care.
Jemima Khan appeals to Elon Musk
Imran Khan’s former wife, Jemima Khan, has directly appealed to X owner Elon Musk, alleging that Pakistani authorities are suppressing information about Khan’s detention by limiting the reach of her posts on the platform.
In a letter to Musk, she said X was their “only independent platform to highlight this injustice” because Khan’s name is “banned from every Pakistani TV and radio station”. She described Khan as a “democratically elected prime minister, removed in 2022 and now held 22 months in brutal solitary confinement as a political prisoner”.
Jemima alleged that her X account is subject to what her own AI, Grok, calls “secret throttling”, claiming the algorithm deliberately hides her posts because Pakistani authorities have made “criticism from Imran Khan’s immediate circle one of their top online enforcement priorities, and X is quietly complying”. She cited data from Grok showing her impressions fell from an average of 400 to 900 million per month to just 28.6 million in the entire 2025, describing it as a “97% crash to <3% of expected reach”.
She urged Musk to “honour the free-speech promises” by removing the alleged throttling. Her letter was shared by broadcaster Piers Morgan, who publicly condemned Pakistani authorities over Imran Khan’s detention and jail conditions.
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