New Delhi: Jemima Goldsmith has questioned the British government over its response to the treatment of her ex-husband and former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. She urged UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to publicly intervene over 73-year-old Khan’s treatment, calling it a human rights emergency.
“Prime Minister @andyburnham and Foreign Secretary @Ed_Miliband: how much longer will Britain remain silent?” she posted on X Monday.
Goldsmith added that for the past three years, Khan had been “brutally penalised” by his political opponents. She alleged that he had endured prolonged solitary confinement and had been denied regular contact with his family as well as access to books, lawyers, and doctors.
“For nearly ten months now his family has been denied contact with him. He has been deprived of the most basic human contact, denied access to books, lawyers and doctors,” Goldsmith wrote.
The screenwriter and TV producer mentioned the UN Nelson Mandela Rules, which state that solitary confinement lasting more than 15 consecutive days “amounts to torture”. She added that Khan’s alleged three-year isolation went far beyond that threshold.
Her tweet and demand for British intervention come amid renewed concerns over Khan’s health. Pakistan’s Supreme Court recently ordered that the former prime minister receive comprehensive medical treatment, including access to his personal doctor, family visits, and twice-weekly phone calls with his sons.
The Pakistan government Saturday transferred Khan to a state-run hospital instead of a private hospital as ordered by the Supreme Court. It blamed this on the heavy presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers outside the private Shifa International Hospital.
However, Khan’s sister Uzma Khan approached the Supreme Court, accusing the government of violating the court’s order. The Supreme Court had ordered on 18 August that Khan be moved from Adiala Jail to a private hospital within two days and remain there until the next hearing on 16 September.
Also read: Kenyan goat herder strikes gold underground—then 10,000 people started digging
Britain connection
In her post on X, Goldsmith highlighted Khan’s longstanding ties to Britain. She mentioned that he studied at Oxford University, played county cricket in England before entering politics in Pakistan, and was involved in various charitable initiatives.
“His relationship with this country stretches back more than half a century. His charitable activities were internationally recognised, and include building the only free cancer hospital in Pakistan as well as a university,” she added.
Goldsmith wrote that her two sons with Khan, Sulaiman and Kasim, are British citizens and have been unable to regularly see their father. She claimed that they were denied visas, threatened with arrest, and prevented from making regular phone calls to Khan as ordered by the court.
“I have repeatedly appealed to the UK government to intervene. Purported attempts at back channelling have evidently failed,” she said, adding that former Foreign Secretary David Lammy told her in writing that Britain would not intervene if her sons were arrested while travelling to Pakistan to visit their father.
Her latest post quickly drew reactions on social media, with supporters backing her call for the British government to intervene.
“Spot on. Hopefully this powerful message wakes up our British leadership. Their continued compromise on human rights is eroding core British values leaving our country completely exposed & compromised. Sad but reality,” one X user wrote.
Another blamed the West for Khan’s condition.
“This is happening on the order of western establishment. They will do nothing in IK’s favor. Because they are mainly involved in it,” they wrote.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)