From Reuters and The Telegraph to Al Jazeera, Financial Times and major Indian networks, international media are reporting that Imran Khan told his sister he is being tortured in prison — and fears being subjected to the same fate as Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi.
25 August 2026
What began as an emotional press conference by Dr. Uzma Khan, sister of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has rapidly become an international news story.
On 21 August, Dr. Uzma described a rare meeting with her brother during his late-night medical examination. According to her account, Imran Khan repeatedly told her that he had been subjected to prolonged isolation, deprivation of meaningful human contact and what he described as torture inside Adiala Jail.
She said Khan asked her to tell people outside prison what was happening to him.
Most disturbing was his reported comparison with former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who died in 2019 after years in detention.
According to Dr. Uzma, Khan believed prolonged isolation was being used against him in a similar manner.
The allegations were made against the background of a dispute over implementation of a Supreme Court order directing that Imran Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital for a comprehensive medical examination, with his personal physician Dr. Faisal Sultan and Dr. Uzma associated with the process.
Instead, Khan was taken to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, PIMS, examined for several hours and returned to Adiala Jail before dawn. Reuters, Al Jazeera, AP and other outlets subsequently reported the dispute.
Pakistan’s government rejects allegations that Khan is being tortured, subjected to punitive solitary confinement or denied proper medical treatment. It says he has been examined repeatedly, receives appropriate prison facilities and was taken to PIMS because of security concerns.
International media reporting these allegations is not the same as independently establishing them as fact. But the sheer breadth of coverage is important: what Khan reportedly asked his sister to tell the outside world is now being reported to audiences across Britain, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
The Telegraph: “Imran Khan ‘being tortured in prison’”
Britain’s The Telegraph gave Dr. Uzma’s allegations one of their most prominent international headlines.
Its report stated that Imran Khan was “being tortured in jail, his sister has claimed” and highlighted Dr. Uzma’s account that her brother repeatedly told her about his treatment during their meeting.
The Telegraph’s report was also heavily circulated through social media, generating hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of interactions.
Read The Telegraph report via Yahoo syndication
The Telegraph coverage is particularly significant because it took the allegation beyond routine reporting about Khan’s legal cases and placed his conditions of detention at the centre of the story.
Reuters: Khan Told His Sister He Was Being “Repeatedly” Tortured
Reuters, one of the world’s largest international news agencies, reported Dr. Uzma’s account immediately after Khan was returned to prison.
Reuters said Khan’s sister told reporters that he had said he was being tortured repeatedly in jail.
The report also documented the wider controversy: the Supreme Court had ordered treatment at Shifa International Hospital, but Khan was taken to PIMS, his personal doctor did not examine him, and he was returned to jail after only a few hours.
Read Reuters: Imran Khan back in jail after hospital visit
Reuters followed the story the next day when PTI sought contempt proceedings over the alleged non-compliance with the Supreme Court order.
That report again recorded Dr. Uzma’s torture allegation and the dispute over Khan’s medical treatment.
Read Reuters follow-up: PTI seeks contempt action
Because Reuters reports are syndicated globally, Dr. Uzma’s statement subsequently appeared in publications across multiple countries.
Al Jazeera: “Sister of ex-Pakistan PM Khan says he is being tortured in jail”
Al Jazeera English gave the allegations direct international video coverage.
Its NewsFeed headline was unequivocal:
“Sister of ex-Pakistan PM Khan says he is being tortured in jail”
Al Jazeera reported that Dr. Uzma said her brother had told her he was being tortured after she met him during the court-ordered medical examination before he was quickly returned to prison.
Al Jazeera also published a detailed report reconstructing what happened during the hospital transfer.
That report is particularly important because it records the Mohamed Morsi comparison.
According to Al Jazeera, Khan complained of approximately ten months of isolation, lack of reading material and television, and problems with his blood pressure. Dr. Uzma then quoted him as referring to Mohamed Morsi:
“This is what they did to Morsi.”
Read Al Jazeera: Khan’s family accuses government of defying hospital order
Al Jazeera later followed the story as PTI approached the Supreme Court seeking contempt proceedings.
This is among the strongest pieces of international reporting because it connects three elements of the controversy: the Supreme Court order, Dr. Uzma’s account of alleged torture and isolation, and Khan’s reference to Morsi.
Associated Press: Allegations of Cruelty, Mental Torture and Medical Neglect
The Associated Press reported the allegations and, importantly, also documented the Pakistani government’s detailed response.
AP said Khan’s family and party accused authorities of cruelty, mental torture, punitive solitary confinement and medical neglect.
It specifically reported that Dr. Uzma met her brother during the PIMS examination and said he complained about prolonged isolation and mental torture.
The Pakistani government told AP that the allegations were baseless and not supported by prison or medical records. It maintained that Khan had undergone numerous medical examinations and disputed descriptions of his conditions as solitary confinement.
Read the Associated Press report
The AP report subsequently reached major international publications and audiences far beyond Pakistan.
The Washington Post Carries the Story to a Major US Audience
The Washington Post carried the Associated Press dispatch under a headline focused on Pakistan’s denial of mistreatment and medical-neglect allegations.
The report nevertheless documented Dr. Uzma’s account, the allegations of mental torture and punitive isolation, and the dispute over why the Supreme Court-directed medical process was not followed as the family expected.
The importance of the Washington Post coverage is its reach: the allegations were no longer being discussed only in Pakistani political circles or diaspora social media, but were appearing in one of the United States’ most prominent newspapers.
Financial Times: Isolation Allegedly Affecting Khan’s Physical Health
The Financial Times focused strongly on the health implications of Khan’s detention.
Its report said Dr. Uzma alleged that prolonged isolation had begun affecting her brother’s memory, heartbeat and blood pressure.
The FT also reported on his brief removal from prison, the Supreme Court order, his examination and his rapid return to Adiala Jail.
Read the Financial Times report
This dimension of the reporting is crucial because Khan’s complaint, according to his sister, was not simply that isolation was psychologically difficult. He was alleging that the absence of human contact was now physically affecting his health.
Indian Media Gives Dr. Uzma’s Allegations Major Coverage
The scale of coverage in India has been particularly notable.
Multiple large Indian newspapers and television networks reported the allegations directly, often making the words “torture,” “solitary confinement” and “Morsi” central to their headlines or reports.
Given the historically difficult relationship between India and Pakistan, the fact that Khan’s prison conditions are receiving this degree of attention across the Indian media landscape significantly expands the story’s regional reach.
Hindustan Times: “Imran Khan repeatedly being tortured”
The Hindustan Times ran the direct headline:
“Imran Khan repeatedly being tortured in Rawalpindi prison, his sister says”
The newspaper reported that Dr. Uzma alleged her brother was being repeatedly tortured and linked the development to the controversial medical examination and his return to Adiala Jail.
Few headlines could communicate more directly how Dr. Uzma’s allegations were presented to an international audience.
The Times of India: “‘Repeatedly tortured’: Imran Khan’s sister alleges abuse”
The Times of India, one of India’s largest English-language newspapers, similarly put the torture allegation directly into its headline:
“‘Repeatedly tortured’: Imran Khan’s sister alleges abuse in jail as ex-Pakistan PM returns to prison”
The report documented Dr. Uzma’s allegations following Khan’s brief medical examination and his return to Adiala Jail.
The Indian Express: Sister Alleges “Torture”
The Indian Express published:
“Imran Khan taken to government hospital, not court-ordered Shifa; sister alleges ‘torture’”
The report explicitly stated that Dr. Uzma said Khan told her he was being “tortured repeatedly” in prison.
It also highlighted the central legal controversy: that the Supreme Court had named Shifa International Hospital and provided for access to Khan’s personal physician, while authorities instead took him to PIMS.
India Today: “Severely Tortured” and the Morsi Comparison
India Today devoted extensive coverage to Dr. Uzma’s press conference.
One report described Dr. Uzma becoming emotional as she recounted her meeting with Khan.
India Today reported her allegation that Khan had told his sisters he was being “severely tortured”, that his complaints inside prison were ignored and that his health was deteriorating because of the lack of human contact.
Read India Today: Sister alleges torture after PIMS examination
India Today’s wider coverage also carried the Mohamed Morsi comparison.
It reported Dr. Uzma saying Khan believed Morsi had been killed after being tortured through solitary confinement and that Khan compared his own treatment with the former Egyptian president’s detention.
This is important because it means Khan’s Morsi warning is no longer circulating only through political activists or social media. It has entered mainstream regional reporting.
Republic World: “Likens Plight to Egypt’s Morsi”
Republic World made the Morsi comparison central to its headline:
“Imran Khan Alleges Torture, Solitary Confinement In Adiala Jail, Likens Plight To Egypt’s Morsi”
The report reproduced Dr. Uzma’s account that Khan compared his detention with Mohamed Morsi and believed his hypertension was connected to the absence of human contact.
Read Republic World: Imran Khan compares plight with Morsi
Republic World published further coverage focusing on Khan’s alleged health problems, including anxiety, hypertension and cardiac symptoms, alongside the family’s allegations of prolonged isolation.
Read Republic World: Sister and doctor raise health and torture concerns
NDTV: “Health Issues Due To Isolation”
NDTV focused on what Khan reportedly told his sister about the effect of isolation on his health.
Its headline read:
“‘Health Issues Due To Isolation’: What Imran Khan Told Sister At Hospital”
NDTV reported that Khan cited doctors while telling Dr. Uzma that solitary confinement was causing health complications and that she described the conditions as mental torture.
NDTV’s video section also subsequently featured coverage under the title “Imran Khan Being ‘Tortured’ In Jail, Kept In Isolation: Sisters Make Shocking Revelation.”
The breadth of NDTV’s text and video coverage further amplified Dr. Uzma’s account among Indian and international audiences.
WION Also Amplifies the Torture Allegation
Indian international broadcaster WION also circulated coverage under the headline:
“Imran Khan ‘severely tortured in jail, no blood test done at hospital’, claims sister”
The report was promoted through WION’s international news account shortly after Dr. Uzma’s press conference.
This further demonstrates that the allegations were being picked up not simply by Indian domestic newspapers but by Indian outlets specifically aimed at a global audience.
Türkiye: TRT World Brings the Medical Controversy to an International Audience
TRT World, Türkiye’s international broadcaster, has also been closely following developments surrounding Khan’s health.
TRT reported the Supreme Court’s order directing Khan’s transfer for medical treatment and specifically noted that Dr. Uzma Khan and Dr. Faisal Sultan were to be present during his medical assessment and treatment.
Read TRT World: Supreme Court orders hospital transfer
TRT subsequently reported Khan’s movement from prison to hospital and then his rapid return to Adiala Jail following the brief medical examination.
Read TRT World: Khan returned to prison after brief hospital visit
At the time of publication, the TRT World reports I can independently verify focus primarily on the hospital transfer, health concerns and return to prison. I have not independently verified a TRT World webpage quoting Dr. Uzma’s latest torture or Morsi statement directly.
That distinction matters.
Nevertheless, TRT’s continuing coverage is important because it places the broader medical-access controversy before audiences in Türkiye and across the Muslim world, where the comparison with Mohamed Morsi has particular resonance.
The Morsi Comparison Has Now Entered Mainstream International Reporting
Perhaps the most consequential part of Dr. Uzma’s account is Imran Khan’s reported reference to Mohamed Morsi.
Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically elected president. After being removed from office by the military in 2013, he spent nearly six years in detention.
Human-rights organisations repeatedly raised concerns about his prolonged isolation, medical treatment and access to family and lawyers.
Morsi collapsed during a court appearance on 17 June 2019 and died.
After his death, the UN human-rights office called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his detention and medical care.
For that reason, Khan’s reported comparison is particularly grave.
And importantly, the comparison is now being reproduced by mainstream international outlets.
Al Jazeera reported it.
India Today reported it.
Republic World placed it in its headline and lead coverage.
This means the warning attributed to Khan has travelled well beyond Pakistan’s internal political debate.
A Story That Has Crossed Borders
International coverage now spans:
United Kingdom
- The Telegraph
- Financial Times
Global wire services
- Reuters
- Associated Press
United States
- The Washington Post through AP coverage
Middle East / global
- Al Jazeera English
Türkiye
- TRT World
India
- Hindustan Times
- Times of India
- The Indian Express
- India Today
- Republic World
- NDTV
- WION
And Reuters and AP syndication means the story has appeared through additional newspapers and broadcasters across Europe, Asia and beyond.
The significance is not that every international outlet has adopted Dr. Uzma’s allegations as an established fact.
Responsible reporting has generally attributed the claims to Khan, his family or his political party and, where available, included the government’s denial.
The significance is that the allegations can no longer be contained as a domestic Pakistani political story.
A former Prime Minister is reportedly telling his family that:
- he is being tortured;
- prolonged isolation is damaging his health;
- meaningful human contact has been denied;
- doctors have linked anxiety and hypertension to his isolation;
- his complaints have allegedly been ignored;
- a Supreme Court-directed medical process was not followed as ordered; and
- he fears the same pattern of treatment that preceded Mohamed Morsi’s death.
Those allegations are now being reported around the world.
“Tell the World”
According to Dr. Uzma, Imran Khan repeatedly asked her to communicate what was happening to him outside the prison.
That message has now reached a global audience.
Reuters has reported it.
The Telegraph has reported it.
Al Jazeera has reported it.
Associated Press has reported it.
The Financial Times has reported the health consequences attributed to his isolation.
Major Indian newspapers and television networks have reported it.
And the Mohamed Morsi comparison itself is now part of international news coverage.
Pakistan’s government has the right to present its response — and it has categorically denied the allegations.
But where a person is held entirely in State custody, responsibility for ensuring his life, physical health, mental wellbeing and basic human dignity ultimately rests with the State.
The most credible way to answer the questions now being asked internationally is not through competing political statements.
It is through independent medical access, meaningful human contact, transparent implementation of judicial orders and independently verifiable compliance with fundamental human-rights standards.
The world has now heard Imran Khan’s warning.
The question is no longer whether anyone outside Pakistan knows.
The question is what the world — and Pakistan’s own institutions — will do about it.