ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, stated on Wednesday that jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan will be provided with an opportunity to speak with his children over the phone on Eid.
The minister made the announcement on his social media account in response to a post by Jemima Goldsmith, the former spouse of ex-prime minister. In her tweet, Goldsmith mentioned that her sons had reapplied in January for permission to visit their father.
“Imran Khan’s phone call with his children will be arranged on Eid Day, as has been done in the past. His children are welcome to visit Pakistan, as they can travel on their NICOP cards as Pakistani citizens, for which no visa is required,” Tarar wrote on his X account.
However, the minister emphasized that during their stay, Imran Khan’s sons must fully comply with the laws of Pakistan.
“My sons Sulaiman & @kasim_khan_1999 applied for visas in January (again...) to allow them to visit their father @ImranKhanPTI in Pakistan. The Pakistan consulate states that online visa processing normally takes 7-10 working days. It has now been 60 days,” she wrote.
Goldsmith also pointed out that the delay in visa issuance persists despite Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly “promising that they [Mr Kasim and Mr Sulaiman] could safely travel there to see their father after four years.” Jemima Goldsmith added that Kasim and Sulaiman are not permitted to speak with their father on the phone, nor send him a letter. They have not seen him since 2022, following an assassination attempt on him. Kasim and his elder brother, Sulaiman, reside in London with their mother.
Meanwhile, the PTI condemned the “decision not to allow Imran Khan’s sons to meet their father and the extraordinary delay in visas”.
