The sons of jailed former prime minister of Pakistan and PTI Founder Imran Khan met with United States President Donald Trump’s key aide Richard Grenell on Tuesday and kicked off a campaign calling for their father’s release from prison. Imran’s sons, Sulaiman Khan, 28, and Kasim Khan, 26, drew attention to their father’s incarceration publicly for the first time in May. Earlier this month, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan said Sulaiman and Kasim will go to the US before coming to Pakistan as part of a movement calling for the ex-premier’s release.
Imran, jailed since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a corruption case and is facing trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act over the May 9, 2023, protests.
Grenell, US special presidential envoy for special missions who has publicly called for Imran’s release, posted on X that he met with Sulaiman and Kasim in California, urging them to “stay strong”.
“There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions. You are not alone.”
Imran’s sons also met with Dr Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani American physician who has been playing a key role in the PTI’s campaign to win over Americans.
Dr Mahmood, vice chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), also shared a picture of the meeting with Grenell and Imran’s sons.
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“Immense pride for [Kasim] and Sulaiman Khan for their bravery in fighting for their father, former prime minister Imran Khan’s freedom,” he said.
He also praised Grenell for “standing for justice and principle” and called for unity to free the PTI founder.
After Trump won the presidential elections in December 2024, Grenell made a series of statements and penned tweets, including a viral “Free Imran Khan!” post on X.
He criticised the policies of ex-president Joe Biden’s administration toward Pakistan, particularly its handling of the country’s missile programme and Imran’s imprisonment. Subsequently, Pakistan’s political and diplomatic machinery in the US ramped up efforts to engage with the new Congress.
Last week, during a congressional hearing on Pakistan, Republican Congressman Christopher H. Smith suggested that the US Congress may soon urge Trump to consider imposing sanctions on countries that suppress religious freedom and violate human rights.
Speakers at the hearing also discussed the rights situation in Pakistan.
Although the Pakistan government has not commented officially on Imran’s sons, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik had said that Article 16 of the Constitution, which grants the right to gather, was applicable to citizens and foreigners are not allowed to assemble in Pakistan.
Malik also said that the two brothers could not legally participate in local political activity as they were British nationals, and that if they “violate the visa conditions, the visa can be cancelled”.
