Imran Khan’s sons will get visas if applied!

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said that the sons of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan will be issued visas or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) if required, there will be no hurdle in this process.

Speaking on Geo News’ program ‘Naya Pakistan’, the PML-N senator said that if the sons of the PTI founder have applied for Pakistani visas, they will be given them without any hurdle.

He assured that if the tracking number of their visa application is shared with him, he will personally ensure that the issue is resolved.

Chaudhry reiterated that the government’s stance from day one has been to hold talks on national issues. He added that several attempts were made in the past to initiate talks in this regard.

His statement came after Aleema Khan, the former prime minister’s sister, said that Qasim and Suleman had applied for NICOP – an identity card issued to Pakistani citizens living outside the country and allowing visa-free entry.

She told reporters that she had a NICOP, but it had since been lost.

Suleman and Qasim visited Pakistan to meet their father. Recently, reports surfaced that Khan had barred them from travelling to Pakistan and participating in any political activities.

However, soon after such reports surfaced, the party denied them, saying that there was no doubt that Suleman (28) and Qasim (26) would come to Pakistan for their father.

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023, when he was ousted from power in an opposition no-confidence motion in April 2022, facing multiple charges ranging from corruption to terrorism.

Qasim first publicly drew attention to his father’s imprisonment in May. In June, he took to X to express concern over Imran’s condition in prison.

He wrote: “My father, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has now spent 700 days in prison – in solitary confinement. He has been denied access to his lawyers, not allowed to meet his family, completely cut off from us (his children), and even his personal doctor has been denied entry. This is not justice. This is an attempt to isolate Pakistan, to isolate human beings who violate the rule of law and democracy.”

The former ruling party has formally launched its anti-government campaign, which will reach its “peak” by August 5 after a high-profile rally in Lahore earlier this month.

Among other objectives, the protest movement aims to secure the release of party founder Imran Khan, who will complete two years in prison on August 5.

The latest round of the party founded by Imran Khan’s anti-government campaign comes after months of deadlock in talks with the government over the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 riots and the November 2024 Islamabad protests.