Pakistan Must End Imran Khan’s Solitary Confinement, Restore Rights: Amnesty International

Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to immediately end the solitary confinement of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and restore his access to family, lawyers and adequate medical care, ahead of the third anniversary of his detention.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International's Acting Regional Director for South Asia, alleged that Pakistani authorities had "systematically denied" Khan his right to a fair trial since his arrest. The rights group said Khan has been held in prolonged solitary confinement, denied regular medical care and prevented from meeting his family for more than eight months. It also claimed that his eyesight has "reportedly deteriorated significantly".

Amnesty further said that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi Khan, have been denied regular access to legal counsel since December 2025. It urged the Pakistani authorities to "unconditionally restore" their right to meet family members and lawyers, provide adequate medical treatment and end what it described as their unlawful solitary confinement.

UN Findings

The organisation also appealed to the authorities to ensure that planned gatherings by Khan's family, his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and supporters to mark the anniversary are allowed to proceed peacefully. It urged the government to avoid a repeat of the crackdowns on protesters witnessed after demonstrations in May 2023 and November 2024.

Khan, 72, became Pakistan's Prime Minister in 2018 before being removed from office through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. He was first arrested on 9 May 2023, sparking nationwide protests, and has remained in detention since his subsequent arrest on 5 August 2023.

Amnesty said it had concluded in 2024 that Khan's imprisonment was unlawful and politically motivated. While he was later acquitted in cases relating to official secrets and his marriage, he is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a corruption case. Bushra Bibi Khan is serving a seven-year sentence in the same case, while both received an additional 17-year sentence in December 2025 in a separate case involving state gifts.

The rights group also referred to previous findings by UN human rights mechanisms, including concerns raised by the UN Special Rapporteur on torture over their detention conditions and a conclusion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Khan's detention was arbitrary and violated international human rights law.