Will Imran Khan be moved from Adiala Jail amid ill health rumors? Pakistan says ex-PM may be shifted to…

Amid the speculations around the deteriorating health condition of former prime minister Imran Khan, authorities are reportedly mulling to shift the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to another high-security prison due to “constant protest demonstrations” by his party’s supporters outside the jail premises.

Will Imran Khan be shifted from Adiala Jail?

According to senior official of the Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab government, the provincial administration, in consultation with federal authorities, is expected to take a decision shortly on shifting Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to another prison facility, with District Jail Attock being considered among other options.

“The Punjab government is seriously considering shifting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan to some other prison due to constant protest demonstrations outside the Adiala Jail,” news agency PTI quoted official as saying.

Talking to reports, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Coordinator for Information Ikhtiyar Wal claimed that continuous protests outside the Adiala Jail had disrupted the daily lives of residents in the vicinity, prompting the government to consider relocating Imran Khan to another prison facility.

“Efforts are being made to spread chaos under the guise of protest outside Adiala. Many PTI leaders want their jailed leader to be transferred elsewhere,” he claimed.

Imran Khan’s sisters denied meeting

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, tensions escalated outside Adiala Jail when  prison authorities refused to allow Khan’s sisters and lawyers to meet the jailed former premier.

Khan’s sisters and supporters staged a protest outside the jail, prompting Punjab Police to use water cannons to disperse the crowd and seize several vehicles in the early hours of Wednesday.

Condemning the police action, Khan’s PTI alleged that despite court orders, his family was denied access to him, and termed the use of water cannons on women in harsh winter conditions “inhumane” and accused authorities of depriving the former prime minister of his basic rights as a prisoner.

Is Imran Khan dead or alive?

The development comes nearly two weeks after unverified reports emerged on social media, claiming that Imran Khan had been “assassinated” inside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where he has been incarcerated since August 2023.

The rumors, which triggered a political firestorm, stemmed from reports, that cited “sources” to claim that the former Pakistani premier has been killed. Several posts, including one from an X handle claiming to represent the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs Baluchistan”, carried a purported image showing Khan lying motionless on a stretcher.

However, a day later, Adiala Jail authorities refuted the rumors of Imran Khan’s death as “baseless”, asserting that the former Prime Minister is in “completely good health” inside the high-security jail.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s sons have raised fears that authorities might be concealing “something irreversible” about the former Pakistan prime minister’s condition as the family has not been allowed to meet him at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, despite court orders.