Islamabad/Lahore, 2 Dec

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan’s health is "perfectly fine", but he is being subjected to "mental torture in solitary confinement", his sister Dr Uzma Khan said on Tuesday after meeting him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

The development comes amid rumours on social media about Khan’s health, as his family was constantly being denied permission to meet him in prison for more than a month.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement after Uzma’s meeting with the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician that Khan has been “put in solitary confinement and he is being subjected to mental torture".

“Praise be to Allah! His health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture,” she said.

She also claimed that Khan said the authorities were “mentally torturing” him as he is kept in his cell for most part of the day and allowed to go out only for a brief time. She also quoted Khan as saying that he was not allowed to communicate with anybody.

An unannounced ban was placed on meeting Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023 in multiple cases, for more than a month.

Adiala Jail authorities, however, claimed that he is in "good health".

The PTI in a statement earlier on Thursday said that one of the sisters of Khan, Dr Uzma Khan, was permitted to meet him after a large number of party supporters gathered outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government deployed the entire Rawalpindi police force along Adiala Road to thwart the PTI protest.

The government has already imposed Section 144 (ban on gathering of four or more people) in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The station house officers of eight police stations in Rawalpindi, along with senior officers, are present outside Adiala Jail.

"An eight-kilometre stretch has been completely sealed. Schools and colleges are closed. Residents are being required to show their ID card to pass through the area," an official of the Punjab government told PTI.

A group of lawyers also held a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court against the government for keeping Imran Khan in isolation.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said compliance with Section 144 would be ensured in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at any cost.

“Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” the minister said.

Earlier, Imran Khan's son Kasim Khan demanded that the government present proof that he (Khan) is alive.

"We demand proof of (Imran Khan)'s life," Khan's son Kasim Khan had said in a post on X.

Khan's party has warned the authorities of countrywide protests if the government does not allow his sisters to see him.

His sisters have also warned that if anything happens to Khan, those involved and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad.