LAHORE:
Surviving in a cell meant for death row prisoners — where former prime minister Imran Khan is denied even a book, television, or a properly cooked meal — his resolve has only grown stronger, according to a letter from his wife. The letter was conveyed through a party source who had recently interacted with her at Adiala Jail.
Bushra Begum, in her message written through notes memorized by the party source, said Imran Khan was confined to a room designated for those awaiting execution. The suffocating space contained a single bed and a small washroom in the corner, leaving no room to move and little air to breathe. For 18 hours a day, she said, he was locked inside that room, completely alone.
“Imagine a man who once led a nation now confined to a space so narrow that it strips away the very sense of being,” she was quoted as saying.
According to her, guards have been instructed not to speak to him. “Even if you try to make eye contact, they lower their gazes as if ordered not to interact with him. It is deliberate isolation meant to sever all human connection,” she claimed.
Bushra further alleged that food had been turned into a tool of torment. Untrained cooks were tasked with preparing his meals, only to be replaced once they began to understand his needs. When he turned to television for brief distraction, it was taken away. Books, too, were denied. What remained, she said, was “total isolation, total silence.”
She added that every Tuesday, Imran Khan waits with hope for a meeting with her. “He prepares himself, believing we will speak, even if only for a few minutes. Yet week after week, at the last moment, the meeting is cancelled. That fragile hope rises, only to be crushed again and again.”
The same pattern, she claimed, applies to his legal cases. Hearings are scheduled with anticipation but postponed or cancelled without reason. Sometimes lawyers from his defence team are denied access, while others with no direct role in the cases are permitted instead.
“This is not simply imprisonment. It is mental torture of the highest order. It is a systematic attempt to break a man’s spirit,” she stated.
But, she wrote, cruelty cannot defeat faith. “As hardship increases, so do Allah’s blessings. With every act of injustice, Imran Khan’s resolve grows stronger. With every moment of suffering, the love and support of the people deepen. His spirit rises even as they try to confine his body.”
Bushra described the situation as a dark chapter in the nation’s history, “one that tests not only my husband but all of us.” She wrote that Imran Khan endures this ordeal with patience and unwavering faith.
