ISLAMABAD: Mosharraf Zaidi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spokesperson for foreign media, takes a dig at Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim over fake news claiming that Imran Khan is in “death cell” in Adiala jail.
During a heated debate at Sky News, Zaidi stated that Imran Khan has been incarcerated for approximately 860 days and has received 870 visits, far more than the allowed in over 112 weeks.
“How many unique visits, interviews is what we call them in our system, do you think he’s had in those 860 days? … He’s supposed to get, as you said, one every week, and it’s been about 112 weeks. He’s had 870,” Zaidi stated.
He told Sky News that the former PM has held 137 meetings with his sisters, 45 with Aleema, 45 with Uzma, and 43 with Noreen, noting Aleema had two additional meetings since the figures were compiled.
“This doesn’t sound like solitary confinement to me,” Zaidi clarified, saying that Imran Khan has conducted 451 interviews with lawyers and that his personal physician has been permitted access.
Zaidi said that a three-and-a-half-week suspension of meetings was due to security concerns, as interactions in the meetings often turned into political gatherings.
When the journalist asked that Khan’s sons had not spoken to him in five months, Zaidi responded, “His last phone call was in September. I’m not sure whether one of the boys was on it or not.”
He also quoted Prison Rule 265 prohibiting discussion of political matters during interviews and noted 575 posts from Khan’s X account since his imprisonment.
When asked about Zaidi’s past X posts from 2023 and 2024 against Khan’s arrests and if he stood by them. Zaidi affirmed he did at the time but said that the development including security challenges from India, Iran, and Afghanistan has changed the situation.
“Are you saying Imran Khan is a threat?” Hakim asked. “Absolutely,” he replied.
In response to a UN special rapporteur’s report, Zaidi said, “I don’t think anybody is lying. I think people are consuming bad information,” noting Hakim had not visited Pakistan in a decade.
When Hakim requested a visa and an interview with Imran Khan, Zaidi offered an interview with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stating prison rules would not allow media to break Pakistan’s laws.
“I think people want rule of law, but they want it very specifically in circumstances that allow Imran Khan to enjoy total freedom at a time of incarceration. The whole purpose of being a convicted criminal is that you’re in jail and you lose your freedom,” Zaidi added.
Also read: Imran Khan’s sons to arrive in Pakistan in January to meet their father
