The family and party of jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan say his blood pressure suddenly rose to 192 this week and that his life is under threat in prison — but the source of the alarming figure remains unclear, and the lawyer whose jail meeting set off the claims has publicly distanced himself from them, The News International reported on Thursday (November 5). The figure of 192 is a claim by Khan's family and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party; no medical report confirming it has been published, and the government has not issued its own medical account of the reported episode.
Source: The News International, November 5, 2026
Khan's sister Rubina Khan, in a statement shared on social media by his son Kasim Khan, claimed her brother had conveyed a message that his blood pressure had suddenly risen to 192 and alleged his life was under threat in jail; she demanded he be admitted immediately to an independent medical institution in the presence of his personal doctor. Kasim Khan linked the reported spike to his father's prolonged isolation and warned he could die in his prison cell if not released. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, raising the issue at an opposition leaders' meeting in Islamabad on November 4, said the reading had surged to 192 and demanded Khan's immediate transfer to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for treatment under his personal physicians, pointing to an August Supreme Court order on his treatment, Dawn reported.
Source: The News International; Dawn reporting summarised by Zark News, November 5, 2026
The health row follows the family's earlier warning, reported on October 31, that no one had heard from Khan since August. Read the earlier story: son Sulaiman's no-contact warning
A 40-minute meeting after seven months
The claims followed a meeting on November 2 at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi between Khan and his lawyer, Salman Safdar — the first such lawyer meeting since April, according to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. Safdar disclosed that jail authorities facilitated a 40-minute meeting at 4:30pm on November 2 with Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi; he said he had met Khan after seven months and Bushra Bibi after 11 months, following repeated applications, and that both briefed him on their health and living conditions and gave fresh instructions on legal matters. The meeting itself was insufficient to cover all the pending cases, he said in a post on X.
Source: The News International, November 5, 2026
'I am not a messenger for anyone'
When approached about the health reports, Safdar said he was not the source of what was being said about Khan's health: describing himself as a professional lawyer, he said his role was restricted to legal responsibilities and that he was not a messenger for anyone. Meanwhile, unnamed sources familiar with the circumstances of the meeting offered a different account: they said Khan did mention that his blood pressure had once risen to around 190, but described him as otherwise generally fit and indicated no immediate serious medical emergency; they added that Khan was particularly concerned about the health of his wife, Bushra Bibi, who reportedly has an eye-related problem. Neither Rubina Khan nor Kasim Khan has publicly identified who conveyed the reported health update to them.
Source: The News International, November 5, 2026
What is solid
- Salman Safdar met Khan and Bushra Bibi for 40 minutes at Adiala Jail on November 2 — his first meeting with Khan in seven months (Safdar's own disclosure, reported by The News)
- Safdar has said publicly that he was not the source of the alarming health reports and that his role is limited to legal duties
- The Islamabad High Court was due on November 5 to hear a National Dialogue Committee petition seeking permission to meet Khan (Associated Press of Pakistan)
- A Supreme Court bench directed in August that Khan be assessed and treated at Shifa International Hospital — the family says that order has not been carried out
What is only claimed
- That Khan's blood pressure rose to 192 — claimed by his sister, his son and PTI's secretary general, but not confirmed by any published medical report, and the government has published no medical account
- How serious the episode was — sources familiar with the meeting say Khan mentioned a reading near 190 but looked generally fit, with no immediate emergency indicated
Courts hold the next steps
The dispute has moved into the courts on several tracks at once. The Islamabad High Court was due on Thursday (November 5) to hear a petition by members of the National Dialogue Committee — including former minister Fawad Chaudhry — seeking permission to meet Khan, with the petitioners saying they are deeply concerned about the health of Khan and Bushra Bibi and asking the court to direct the jail superintendent to arrange a meeting, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. In Lahore, the Lahore High Court has sought reports from the Punjab Home Department on petitions challenging the extended detention of Khan's sisters and seeking medical treatment for one of them, Noreen Niazi; the sisters were detained in September under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance ahead of a planned PTI march. Khan, 74, a former cricket captain, has been in jail for more than three years following corruption and bribery convictions, which he denies as politically motivated; Pakistan's government has told the Associated Press he is a convicted prisoner serving court-imposed sentences and has denied allegations of mistreatment and solitary confinement. What happens next depends on whether any hospital or government medical statement emerges: until one does, the 192 figure remains what both sides' accounts make it — an unverified claim at the centre of Pakistan's sharpest political standoff.
Source: Zark News (APP and Pakistani reporting), November 5, 2026