PAKISTAN: Situation Report – 2 August 2025
Photo: Presidential Envoy for Special Missions of the United States, Richard Grenell with Kasim Khan (L) and Sulaiman Khan (R) Tuesday 23 July 2025/ @RichardGrenell (X)
Saturday 2 August 2025 – Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has called for mass protests in more than 35 countries across the world ahead of 5 August amidst worsening democratic erosion in the country.
Khan has been in jail for almost two years, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges he has always denied.
Last week 10-year sentences were handed down to 108 members of Khan’s PTI party for their alleged involvement in Pakistan’s May 9 protests of 2023.
Khan’s son’s, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan, spoke out to international media in May for the first time, sharing the harsh and degrading conditions their father is being forced to endure in prison, with the aim of securing his release.
The “torture tactics” and worsening conditions they describe are in contravention of The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules).
“Respect democracy, respect the will of the Pakistani people, and respect the rule of law. Give him [Imran Khan] a fair trial,” Sulaiman Khan told Piers Morgan Uncensored last week.
Reflecting on the trends of crackdown on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the context of the 2023-25 ‘super election’ cycle, UN Special Rapporteur, Gina Romero’s thematic report (A/68/299) to the Human Rights Council 59th session in June, highlighted Khan’s illegal imprisonment with reference to a UN Working Group’s recommendation in March 2024.
Having won the 2024 election by a two thirds majority from prison, Khan’s son, Kasim, stated, “250 million people in Pakistan deserve to have their voices heard.”
After meeting with Special Presidential Envoy, Richard Grenell and lawmakers recently in the US, Khan’s sons are awaiting visas to travel to Pakistan ahead of a mass movement calling for the release of Khan and all prisoners of conscience on 5 August.
Pakistani authorities last week threatened Khan’s sons with arrest on arrival should they travel to Pakistan.
Expressing solidarity with Khan’s sons following a meeting on 23 July in the US, Grenell stated on X: “There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions.
“You are not alone.”
-ENDS-
Note to editors: Members of the Pakistani Australian community will be gathering across Australian states to protest against Imran Khan’s ongoing imprisonment on Sunday 3 August.
Background
See PTI Global protest schedule (PTIOIC)
https://x.com/PTIOIC/status/1950606934307999951
Kasim Khan full interview: Real America’s Voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_GocXUkp4
Kasim Khan & Sulaiman Khan full interview: Piers Morgan Uncensored
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXw_ImU1Izg
‘Important Message from Former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Adiala Jail – 22 July 2025’ on X
https://x.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1948362492683473299
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero – Impact of the 2023–2025 “super election” cycle on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/59/44
Imran Khan’s sister alleges massacre during Pakistan protest, claims brother was tortured | ABC The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mOsEYpTOvo
Why did they Shoot? Imran Khan’s ‘Final Call’ – 26 November 2024
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/01/why-did-they-shoot/
Imran Khan’s sister Aleema on Pakistan election results | SBS World News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Jgco0_GZo
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