Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's sons told Reuters that they fear that "something irreversible" has been done to him while incarcerated by the authorities from the central government.
They stated that they had gone three weeks without any evidence as to whether he was still alive, due to the court-ordered prison visits being blocked.
According to his son Kasim Khan, this meant that they had no direct contact with him that could verify his wellbeing.
"Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture," he was quoted as saying, adding that he had no communication with him for months that could have its veracity be independently verified.
"Today we have no verifiable information at all about his condition, Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us," Khan said.
Imran Khan's sons further said that his personal physician was not permitted to check his health for over a year. Reuters quoted an anonymous source in the form of jail official who reported that the ex-PM was in healthy and in stable condition. He stated that he has not heard of any news regarding shifting him to a higher-security incarceration.
Reuters reported that television channels were not allowed to use his name or image with a low resolution court photo of him on the internet being the last the world had seen of him.
Kasim Khan called this move "intentional" and said that the authorities feared his popularity.
"They are scared of him. He is Pakistan's most popular leader and they know they cannot defeat him democratically," he said.
Kasim lives in London with his older brother Suleiman Isa Khan and their mother Jemima Goldsmith, who was Imran Khan's first spouse.
They reported that the last they saw him was in November 2022, when Khan survived an attempt on his life.
The 72-year-old was imprisoned on various charges of corruption with one notable case being about him allegedly selling gifts he received while in office which was called the 'Toshakanta case'.
Khan stated that he believed these charges were politically motivated.