Case Profile: Imran Khan, a prisoner of conscience

Summary 

Imran Khan has been a popular figure in Pakistan since his prominence as a cricketer and subsequently served as Pakistan’s 19th prime minister between 2018-2022. As Prime Minister, he took a firm stance against corruption, firmly believing in the need to detach Pakistan from US influence and was committed to pulling Pakistan out of its historic involvement in the War on Terror. Since May 2023, Imran Khan has been imprisoned by his opponents who have weaponised terrorism frameworks to entrap Khan within a legal system used to hold prisoners indefinitely.

Who is Imran Khan?

Imran Khan was born in Lahore, on the 5th October 1952 to a family of Pathan origin. He moved to England as a teenager and studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. Khan rose to prominence in Pakistan as a world-famous cricketer and captained Pakistan’s national team to victory in the 1992 World Cup. He was well known for his philanthropy throughout his career, including the inauguration of Pakistan's first cancer hospital which he built in memory of his mother. After retiring from cricket, Imran Khan made his way into politics, founding his own political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996. 

Imran Khan’s party grew in prominence and his rise in popularity saw him win the 2018 election to become Prime Minister. His popularity was based on a strong commitment to end corruption in Pakistani politics and a vision to end Western foreign interference in the country. In 2022, after collusion between the then US state department official Donald Lu and the military junta whose influence was being undermined by Khan, he was ousted from his position as PM. This followed a pattern of Western foreign interference in countries like Pakistan where neo-colonial powers continue to exert influence by ensuring that those in power are people they can control.

Imran Khan was arrested by his opponents because of  his continued popularity amongst the Pakistani people. Nationwide uprisings were suppressed in a way that Amnesty described as a ‘brutal and lethal crackdown’ that led to the murder of 14 people by state forces and thousands of arrests. 

Opposition to the War on Terror

When the war on terror started in 2001, Imran Khan became the leading political voice opposing the military junta’s collaboration with the US. He was one of the only people to speak out against drone warfare and extra-judicial killings, bringing attention to the fact that over 80,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives since Pakistan had joined the US’s War on Terror. Imran Khan’s unwavering stance saw him painted as an extremist and he was smeared as ‘Taliban Khan’ by his opponents. 

His position as PM  was seen as an attempt to shape Pakistan into a country with an independent foreign policy which served the interests of its own people over that of foreign actors. This included pushing back against pressure to join the Abraham Accords and normalise ties with Israel, remaining committed to a foreign policy ‘rooted in international law, human dignity and solidarity with oppressed peoples’. Imran Khan maintained a principled stance throughout his career, committed to justice and freeing Pakistan from the iron grip that the military had maintained over the country since its inception. 

The Pakistani establishment functions as an outpost of neocolonial influence for the US and UK interests in the region - it is seen by many as a “Garrison State “. The military itself represents a continuation of the British Royal India Army, built on a colonial logic that sees a local elite exploit the masses to serve colonial powers. The fact that Imran Khan recognised this reality and sought to dismantle it is exactly why he became such a threat to those in power. 

CAGE, Imran Khan and Aafia Siddiqui 

Imran Khan played a crucial role in exposing the Pakistani military’s role in the horrific abduction and torture of Aafia Siddiqui and her three children. In July 2008, Imran Khan held the first press conference with Yvonne Ridley and CAGE International in Pakistan to publicise the case of, at the time, an unknown Aafia Siddiqui. She had been picked up in a joint operation by the US military and Pakistani intelligence agency and had been kept in secret detention, without due process since 2003., Pakistani media learnt of the case, which up until then had been covered up by the military establishment. Following the press conference, Aafia Siddiqui ‘coincidentally’ appeared in Afghanistan. This was a clear attempt to manufacture a fake case against her and to avoid a case that had been filed with the Pakistani Supreme Court. 

Imprisonment 

On the 9th May 2023, Imran Khan was first arrested, a week after the Armed Forces media wing responded negatively to his accusation that they had attempted to assassinate him the previous year. His arrest sparked the May 9th riots, where supporters of Imran Khan targeted military and government installations. The aftermath of Imran Khan’s imprisonment exposed the brutal nature of the Pakistani military. The army shot at protestors, conducted mass arrests, and clamped down on free speech to the extent that journalists who criticised the military’s actions fled Pakistan fearing persecution. Imran Khan was then re-arrested in August of the same year along with several family members including his wife, sisters and nephews. 

Imran Khan faced terrorism related charges several times in order to quash his political influence. He was even accused of ‘spreading hate speech’, an excuse the army used to impose a nationwide ban on his speeches. Eventually, Imran Khan and his wife were sentenced to 17 years in prison over charges they firmly deny, placing the blame on the US backed Pakistani military for colluding in what his sister called a ‘sham’. In total, Imran Khan faces 188 criminal charges, a  preposterous number that could only be justified by the Pakistani establishment under the framework of the “War on Terror”.

Imran Khan has been imprisoned for over 3 years with no end to his imprisonment in sight. He is denied visits, appropriate medical care, and is subjected to solitary confinement to the point where his health has severely deteriorated. He has been subjected to torture and reportedly told his sister, ‘they want to kill me just like they killed Morsi’. 

Prisoner of conscience

Imran Khan has been one of the most consistent and vocal critics of Western interference in Pakistan. He has challenged the efficacy of military solutions, condemned drone strikes as counterproductive, and advocated for an independent foreign policy. Imran Khan’s policies that saw him stand as a staunch opponent of the “War on Terror” are exactly what position him as a prisoner of conscience. 

CAGE International calls for Imran Khan’s immediate and unconditional release.