Latest news with #KasimKhan
Mint
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
‘So proud…': Former UK minister praises his nephews, speaking up for their jailed father Imran Khan
Zac Goldsmith, UK's former foreign office minister for the International Environment, Climate, Forests, Oceans, had high praises for his nephews – Kasim Khan and Suleiman Khan – on Tuesday. They are both Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan's sons. In a note on X, Goldsmith, while advocating for Imran Khan himself, sang high praises of his nephews, feeling 'proud' of them. While quoting a post by Mario Nawfal, an Australian entrepreneur, Goldsmith said, 'So proud of my nephews. They have never courted publicity. The contrary. But they are speaking up now for their father @ImranKhanPTI - a hero for so many in Pakistan, an uncorruptible leader who is being tortured by a desperate, corrupt and greedy establishment.' Nawfal's account has been withheld in India due to the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions. The 72-year-old has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi, the garrison city, since mid-2023 in connection with multiple cases. Imran Khan's sons Kasim Khan and Suleiman Khan, in an interview with Nawfal, urged US President Donald Trump and the international community to help free their jailed father. According to a report published in Arab News, Kasim Khan and Suleiman Khan spoke about the 'suppression of democracy' in Pakistan, and a lack of basic facilities for their father in his prison cell. They said he was being kept on 'trumped up charges,' and called on the Trump administration and the international community to press Islamabad for his release. 'Anyone who looks into it a little can kind of see that,' Suleiman said. 'In terms of a message to the Trump administration, we'd call for any government that supports free speech and proper democracy to join the call for our father's release, and especially the most powerful leader in the world," the report quoted Suleiman as saying. Imran Khan's older son Kasim Khan said they just wanted the international community to see what had been going on in Pakistan and 'hopefully take action.' On May 9, Imran Khan's party had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking his release from jail, claiming a threat to his life due to the impact of the prolonged detention on his health and in view of the escalating military conflict with India, news agency PTI reported. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, in a WhatsApp message, said that the party's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur approached the Islamabad High Court for the release of the party founder. 'The Islamabad High Court has been approached for the release of Imran Khan. An application has been filed by Chief Minister KP Ali Amin,' a PTI report quoted the party. 'It has been requested that in view of the current war situation with India, for national harmony and solidarity, and due to the fear of a drone attack in Adiala Jail, he be immediately released on parole/probation." (With inputs from agencies)
Arab News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Former Pakistan PM Khan's sons urge Trump administration to play role for father's release
ISLAMABAD: The sons of former prime minister Imran Khan have urged United States (US) President Donald Trump and the international community to help free their jailed father, appealing to 'people of influence' to press for his release. Khan has been in jail for nearly two years on a slew of charges that he says are politically motivated. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has held frequent protests demanding his release and frequently agitated against the Pakistani government over what it says were rigged general elections in Feb. 2024 and a campaign to subdue PTI supporters since his ouster from the PM's office in April 2022. Pakistani authorities deny Khan's allegations, accusing the ex-premier and his party of leading violent anti-government protests in the past, particularly in May 2023 and Nov. 2024. On May 9, 2023, frenzied mobs across the country carrying flags of Khan's party attacked government and military installations, while a protest in Nov. to demand Khan's release killed four troops during clashes, officials say. The PTI denies instigating followers to violence and accuses the military and its political rivals of resorting to rights abuses against its supporters. They both deny the charges. During a rare interview, conducted by entrepreneur, business influencer and citizen journalist Mario Nawfal, Khan's sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan, spoke about the alleged 'suppression of democracy' in Pakistan, a lack of basic facilities for Khan in his prison cell. They said he was being kept on 'trumped up charges,' and called on the Trump administration and the international community to press Islamabad for his release. 'Anyone who looks into it a little can kind of see that,' Suleiman said. 'In terms of a message to the Trump administration, we'd call for any government that supports free speech and proper democracy to join the call for our father's release, and especially the most powerful leader in the world.' The former cricket-star-turned politician, who was believed to have been brought into power by Pakistan's powerful military, fell out with the generals. His party accuses the military, which has ruled Pakistan for nearly have of its history and holds sway in politics even when not in power, of colluding with Khan's rivals to keep him out of politics. The military and Khan's rivals deny this. In Dec. 2024, Khan's party held negotiations with the government to ease political tensions in the country. However, talks broke down in Jan. after the PTI pulled away, accusing the government of not fulfilling its two principal demands of forming judicial commissions to investigate the 2023 and 2024 protests. The government rubbished the PTI's allegations, accusing the party of 'unilaterally' abandoning talks without waiting for the government to respond to its demands. Sulaiman said there was a tradition of 'dynastic politics' in Pakistan, dominated by two main parties, and his father wanted to break away from that tradition. Khan's elder son, Kasim, said they just wanted the international community to see what had been going on in Pakistan and 'hopefully take action.' 'We'd love to speak to Trump or try and figure out a way where he would be able to help out in some way because at the end of the day, all we are trying to do is free our father, bring democracy in Pakistan and just ensure his basic human rights,' Kasim said. The calls from Khan's sons for his release came a day before the hearing of a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking Khan's release on parole, which was filed by his party's chief minister in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Besides speaking with Nawfal of their time with Khan and family interactions, Sulaiman also appealed to 'people of influence' around the world to speak for their father's release. 'I think that would be huge, just to create a bit more noise because it's definitely gone a bit quiet recently,' he said. 'We would love people to reach out to us if they have some influence or potential to help with this situation.'
