Imran Khan's Sons Left Fearing the Worst

By Robert Birsel and Shane CroucherShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

The sons of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan accused the country's authorities of "psychological torture" as his family is left fearing the worst after weeks without contact.

Khan, who founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), is serving a lengthy sentence after a conviction in a corruption trial that he and his allies say was a politically-motivated sham. But his family says nobody has been allowed to visit Khan in jail or had proper contact with him since early November. Khan's personal doctor has also been denied access to him.

Pakistani authorities have said Khan is in good health and denied rumors that he would be transferred to another prison. But Khan's family is skeptical and says there has been no proof of life—despite a court order to allow weekly visits with him.

"Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture," Kasim Khan, one of the sons, who both live in London, told Reuters. "Today we have no verifiable information at all about his condition. Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us."

This is a developing article. Updates to follow.