PTI founder Imran Khan’s sons on Friday said that United States President Donald Trump was a figure who “can make a difference” in their incarcerated father’s situation.
Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023.
Sulaiman Khan, 28, and Kasim Khan, 26 called attention to their father’s incarceration for the first time publicly in May. Last month, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum said they would go to the United States before coming to Pakistan as part of a movement calling for the ex-premier’s release. The siblings visited the US and engaged US lawmakers on the issue of their father’s incarceration.
In an interview on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ aired today, Kasim was questioned on whether he had any message for Trump, to which he said: “If anyone can make a difference, he (Trump) can.”
Kasim said the two had met Trump’s key aide Richard Grenell — known for publicly calling for Imran’s release on X.
“We know that Trump has a great relationship with our father and vice versa. They had great conversations when they were both in office and they seem to have mutual respect for one another.
“If Trump was able to make a statement or in any way speak to the establishment over there [in Pakistan] to get our father released, I know he’s one of the few people who can, so of course we would love to kind of have a conversation with him or hope for some help from him or support.”
Sulaiman said it had been three years since he last met his father and four months since he spoke to him. Kasim said the experience had been “brutal” for the two since they used to regularly speak to him.
Kasim said the two were not ones to publicly speak out, but were now getting “desperate” after having gone so long without any contact with their father.
“When we floated the idea of going, we were told by people in the Pakistani government that we would be arrested and from other people, we heard, you know, we had warnings from family members, inside sources, all sorts of people saying similar [things]. So we’ve still tried to get our visas. We are still looking to go at some point. We’ve applied for our visas but we haven’t had our responses yet. We’ll see what happens.”
Sulaiman said the two were “doing everything we can” to help their father from abroad if they could not go to Pakistan. He added that the two had not yet spoken to anyone in the UK government on the matter.
In their message to state authorities, Sulaiman said: “ Respect democracy, first of all. Respect the will of the Pakistani people which was clear despite huge rigging in the general election in February last year and respect the rule of law and give him a proper, fair trial.“
Kasim said the two were prepared for being arrested upon going to Pakistan. “We’ve been attempting to go for a little while. We’re looking through whatever we can. So what will be, will be. We’ll see what happens. But we 100 per cent will be going at some point, whether he likes it or not,” he added.
Aleema had previously said that the sons would “definitely” come to Pakistan as they had a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) and they were “citizens of Pakistan”. “If anything were to happen to Imran’s sons, it would become an international matter,” she had told reporters.
Earlier this week, the PTI swiftly rubbished media reports claiming that the incarcerated leader told reporters at Adiala Jail that his sons would not be coming to Pakistan and taking part in or leading any protest.
Although the government has not officially commented on the matter of Imran’s sons, Chaudhry previously questioned what, if any, role they would be able to play, adding that they were welcome to visit Pakistan and there would be no obstacle for them. He continued that visas would be issued to them “in less than 24 hours”, provided they stayed within the law.
Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik had told Dawn.com that Article 16 of the Constitution, which grants the right to gather, was applicable to citizens and foreigners are not allowed to assemble in Pakistan.
Malik also said that the two brothers could not legally participate in local political activity as they were British nationals, and that if they “violate the visa conditions, the visa can be cancelled”.
There were conflicting statements from PML-N leaders as well on whether the duo would be allowed entry into Pakistan, with Senator Irfan Siddiqui saying they should be allowed to come and “carry out their activities”, but within the limitations of the law.
Visa applications awaiting interior ministry’s approval
Earlier, Aleema said the two had applied for their Pakistani visas and were awaiting approval from the interior ministry ahead of their visit to the country.
In a post on X, she said: “A few days ago, Suleiman and Kasim applied for their visas with the Pakistan High Commission in London. The ambassador has intimated that he is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad.”
Responding to Aleema’s post, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry called her out for her previous assertion that the siblings had a Nicop, questioning why they would need visas if that was the case.
“If they do need visas, that means they are not ‘Pakistani nationals’. What is the real truth behind it all?”