Jared Genser hosts an urgent international briefing with Sulaiman and Kasim Khan and Sayed Zulfi Bukhari, focusing on Imran Khan’s health, prison conditions and the alleged failure to implement Pakistan Supreme Court orders concerning his medical treatment.
26 August 2026
International human-rights lawyer Jared Genser, counsel for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has brought renewed international attention to Khan’s imprisonment and medical treatment following an urgent press briefing with his sons Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim Khan, and his adviser on international affairs Sayed Zulfi Bukhari.
Sharing the briefing publicly, Genser said the discussion focused on what Khan’s legal team describes as a flagrant violation of the Pakistan Supreme Court’s order concerning his health.
The briefing comes at a critical moment.
Imran Khan, now 73, has been imprisoned since August 2023. His family and legal team say that prolonged isolation, restricted family contact and inadequate independent medical access are taking an increasingly serious toll on his health.
The Pakistani government disputes allegations of mistreatment and maintains that Khan has received appropriate medical care.
But after the intervention of Pakistan’s highest court, the issue has moved beyond competing political claims.
It has become a question of whether a binding judicial order concerning the health and fundamental rights of a prisoner has been implemented.
WATCH: Full International Press Briefing
Full briefing featuring Sulaiman Isa Khan, Kasim Khan, Jared Genser and Sayed Zulfi Bukhari.
Supreme Court Ordered Imran Khan to a Private Hospital
On 18 August 2026, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred from Adiala Jail to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within 48 hours.
The Court said it was acting to protect Khan’s fundamental right to health and safety.
It also directed the establishment of a medical panel including a cardiologist, general physician, eye specialist and Khan’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan.
The order additionally addressed communication between Khan and his sons.
What happened next has become the focus of an escalating legal dispute.
Instead of being examined at Shifa International Hospital as specified in the order, Khan was taken during the night to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences — PIMS.
Within hours he was declared medically fit and returned to Adiala Jail.
Reuters reported that Khan was taken to PIMS rather than Shifa and was not given access to his personal physician as directed by the Court. The government said the change of hospital resulted from security concerns.
PTI subsequently filed a contempt petition over what it says was a failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s directions.
“The Entire World Is Asking Pakistan to Obey Its Own Courts”
During the briefing, Sulaiman Khan reduced the controversy to a fundamental question of the rule of law.
He said the international community was essentially asking Pakistan to do one thing:
obey its own courts.
Sulaiman and Kasim described their growing fears about their father’s physical condition and the consequences of prolonged imprisonment.
They said they have not been able to visit their father for years and have also experienced lengthy periods without telephone contact.
HUM News reported that their last physical meeting with Imran Khan took place in November 2022, following the assassination attempt against him, while the brothers said their last telephone conversation took place in March 2026.
For Imran Khan’s sons, the argument is no longer about accepting assurances from the authorities.
They are asking for independent verification.
Kasim challenged the government’s assertions that his father is medically well by calling for an independent examination capable of establishing his actual condition.
That is a simple proposition:
If Imran Khan is healthy, allow independent doctors to establish that fact.
Kasim Khan: His Body Is Paying the Price
Kasim presented an especially stark assessment of his father’s condition.
He said Imran Khan had survived an assassination attempt, years of political conflict and almost three years of imprisonment without abandoning his principles — but warned that the physical consequences were now becoming increasingly serious.
International reports following the press conference carried Kasim’s warning that his father may not survive continued imprisonment under the present conditions without appropriate medical care.
The family has repeatedly raised concern about Khan’s eyesight.
His lawyers have said that his vision in his right eye deteriorated significantly while he was in prison — an issue that helped intensify demands for independent specialist treatment.
Reuters has independently reported the family’s and lawyers’ concerns about significant loss of vision, while also noting the government’s position that medical reports do not show a condition requiring urgent treatment.
This disagreement itself demonstrates why an independent medical process is so important.
Jared Genser: Medical Care Is the Minimum Required Under International Law
Jared Genser used the briefing to place the controversy within a wider international human-rights framework.
His position was straightforward: regardless of political disputes or criminal proceedings, adequate medical treatment is a basic right of a prisoner under international law.
He argued that the Supreme Court’s medical order should be implemented immediately and raised broader concerns over Khan’s detention, access to independent physicians and prison conditions.
Genser also pointed to previous scrutiny of Khan’s case by United Nations human-rights mechanisms.
He stressed that the immediate medical controversy must not obscure his international legal team’s broader position: they maintain that Khan’s detention itself is unlawful and continue to seek his release.
“Not Just Contempt — A Complete Mockery”
Sayed Zulfi Bukhari gave a detailed account of what Khan’s team says occurred on the night of the hospital transfer.
According to Bukhari, Khan’s personal physician Dr Faisal Sultan went to Shifa International Hospital, expecting his patient to be brought there in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
Khan, however, was instead taken to PIMS.
Bukhari alleged that a separate convoy created the impression that Khan was being transported toward Shifa while the former prime minister was actually taken elsewhere.
He described the episode as going beyond ordinary non-compliance with a judicial order, calling it a “complete mockery” of the Court.
ANI reporting carried these allegations extensively following the briefing.
The government has defended the decision to take Khan to PIMS on security grounds and said qualified doctors examined him and found him medically fit.
Those two accounts are sharply contradictory.
That is precisely why transparent implementation of the Supreme Court order matters.
Jared Genser Warns the Case Has Implications Beyond Imran Khan
The briefing also moved beyond Khan’s immediate medical situation.
Genser argued that the treatment of such a globally recognised political figure sends a message about the condition of democratic institutions and the rule of law in Pakistan.
His warning was essentially this:
If this can happen to one of the most internationally recognised figures in Pakistan, what protection exists for ordinary citizens whose cases receive no global attention?
Genser said Khan’s international team was preparing a sustained legal, political and public advocacy campaign involving governments, multilateral institutions, civil society and international human-rights organisations.
Sulaiman Khan: Pakistan Is Sliding Toward Dictatorship
Sulaiman Khan also used the international briefing to raise concerns extending far beyond his father.
Asked whether Pakistan was moving toward dictatorship, he answered unequivocally and argued that growing military influence, repression of political opponents and the circumstances surrounding his father’s detention reflected a broader deterioration of democratic governance.
Genser similarly argued that the actions surrounding Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi should be viewed in the context of wider pressure on political activists and democratic institutions.
These are allegations strongly disputed by Pakistan’s authorities, but they are increasingly receiving international attention.
An International Campaign Is Taking Shape
The press conference does not stand in isolation.
It follows a series of international interventions surrounding Imran Khan’s imprisonment and medical treatment.
His sons are speaking publicly.
His former wife Jemima Goldsmith has appealed directly to the British government.
Former international cricket captains have demanded humane treatment and proper medical care.
United Nations mechanisms have raised concerns about his case.
Members of legislatures in the United States and United Kingdom have spoken publicly.
And now his international legal team says it is preparing a sustained campaign aimed at governments, human-rights institutions and civil society around the world.
The issue is therefore increasingly moving beyond Pakistan’s borders.
The Government Disputes the Allegations
For accuracy, it is important to state clearly that the Pakistani government rejects allegations that Imran Khan is being deliberately denied healthcare or subjected to the detention conditions described by his family and legal team.
Officials say he has received medical examinations and appropriate treatment.
After the PIMS examination, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said a team of doctors — including an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and physician — had examined Khan and declared him medically fit.
The government has also argued that security considerations justified taking him to the government hospital rather than Shifa International Hospital.
Yet this does not resolve the central legal question.
The Supreme Court did not simply order that some doctors at some hospital examine Imran Khan.
It specified a hospital, a medical arrangement and access to his personal physician.
Those requirements are at the heart of the present dispute.
Transparency Is the Simplest Answer
There is a straightforward way to resolve competing claims about Imran Khan’s health.
Implement the Supreme Court’s order fully.
Allow the independent medical panel to examine him.
Allow his personal physician to participate.
Release the necessary medical information to Khan and his authorised doctors.
Allow meaningful and regular family communication.
And ensure that any treatment medically required is provided without political interference.
If the government is correct that Khan is medically fit, an independent examination can confirm that.
If his family’s concerns are justified, appropriate treatment can begin.
There should be no political disadvantage to transparency.
This Is Ultimately About the Rule of Law
The most important point emerging from Jared Genser’s briefing is not complicated.
Pakistan’s highest court issued an order intended to safeguard the health and safety of a prisoner.
Whether one supports or opposes Imran Khan politically is irrelevant to the principle involved.
A court order cannot become optional because of the identity of the prisoner.
Medical care is not a political favour.
Family contact is not an instrument of political pressure.
Human dignity does not disappear at the prison gate.
Imran Khan’s sons are asking for evidence that their father is safe.
His lawyers are asking that the Court’s orders be followed.
His international counsel is asking that Pakistan meet its obligations under domestic and international law.
These are not extraordinary demands.
They are the minimum requirements of a functioning system of justice.
Watch the Full Briefing
The full press briefing hosted by Jared Genser, featuring Sulaiman Isa Khan, Kasim Khan and Sayed Zulfi Bukhari, can be watched above.
As international scrutiny intensifies, one question increasingly stands at the centre of the case:
Will the orders of Pakistan’s Supreme Court be implemented in letter and spirit?
The health and life of a prisoner should never be left to political calculation.
Obey the Court. Provide independent medical care. Protect Imran Khan’s fundamental rights.