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EYE ON INDIA DECEMBER 05, 2025 | The Indian Eye 8

Rumours, Protests and a Nation

on Edge: How Imran Khan’s

Silence Is Shaking Pakistan

Unverified claims about Imran Khan’s health have set off political tremors across Pakistan, fueling street

protests, family outcry and a swelling crisis of public trust

OUR BUREAU She compared the current environ-
ment to “Hitler-era-like repression,”
Lahore / Islamabad
describing Pakistan as a country
umors about Imran Khan’s where citizens are abducted, assault-
condition have plunged Pa- ed or silenced without consequence.
Rkistan into a state of unease, Her depiction of Pakistan’s political
igniting protests outside prisons and climate — a landscape of fear, dis-
courts, triggering frantic political trust and spiraling authoritarianism
statements, and once again revealing — resonated deeply with PTI’s base.
the deep fractures within the coun- The jail administration has in-
try’s fragile political landscape. What sisted that Imran Khan is safe, alive,
began as whispers on social media — and in “good health.” But in a coun-
posts speculating about the former try where the public has long dis-
prime minister’s health and even his trusted official statements, such re-
death — has morphed into a national assurances have barely made a dent.
crisis, drawing his supporters into the Instead, every denial seems only to
streets and putting pressure on the deepen the sense that something is
government for answers it has so far being concealed.
failed to fully provide. The unrest has spread beyond
The tension intensified at Rawal- Rawalpindi. In Lahore, Noreen Nia-
pindi’s Adiala Jail, where Khan and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed the fragility narrative entirely, claiming that Khan zi issued one of the starkest warnings
his wife, Bushra Bibi, are being held enjoys better jail conditions than many inmates (Agency file photo) yet: “Just one spark is enough,” she
in connection with multiple corrup- said, hinting at the possibility of mas-
tion cases. On Thursday, Khyber demanding an immediate and offi- atmosphere of suspicion; if anything, sive public anger erupting into some-
Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail cial government response. The par- they appeared to inflame the sense thing far more uncontrollable.
Afridi arrived at the prison, joined ty’s statement, posted on X, insisted among Khan’s supporters that the She claimed that the authorities
by a growing crowd of Pakistan Teh- that “rumors of a despicable nature” state was trivializing their concerns. had been “given license” to assault
reek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and — allegedly spread by “Afghan and Meanwhile, one of the most citizens and that public frustration
supporters demanding clarity on Indian media” — were destabilizing powerful voices in this unfolding has reached dangerous levels. “Peo-
Khan’s wellbeing. The scene outside the national mood. PTI said the gov- drama is that of Noreen Niazi, one ple are angry and fed up,” she said.
the heavily guarded jail was a swirl ernment must “clearly dismiss and of Imran Khan’s sisters. Speaking “When you oppress your own peo-
of anxiety, accusations and political clarify the rumor and immediately to ANI, she said bluntly: “We don’t ple, they will never support you.”
theatre — a reflection of how deeply arrange a meeting between Imran know anything.” Her account was Every rumor, denial, protest and
Khan’s fate remains tied to the na- and his family.” The party warned chilling — weeks without access to statement has turned the battle over
tion’s mood. that the “nation will not tolerate any her brother, rumors of his death Imran Khan’s condition into a sym-
Central to the unrest is the re- uncertainty regarding the status of its circulating freely, and what she de- bol of something larger: who holds
peated denial of prison meetings to leader.” scribed as an unprecedented crack- the power in Pakistan, and at what
Khan’s family, especially his sisters. But far from calming nerves, of- down on PTI supporters. cost. His absence from the public
Aleema Khan, who led a sit-in for ficial responses have only deepened “Police have been given a free eye for weeks has become a trigger
days near the Gorakhpur checkpost, the divide. Defense Minister Khawa- hand to deal with whoever stands for the country’s anxieties, pushing
said she would not leave until she was ja Asif dismissed the fragility narra- with Imran Khan,” she said, adding people into the streets and pulling
granted access to her brother. Nego- tive entirely, claiming that Khan en- that women, children and the el- the political class into a cycle of con-
tiations with police eventually ended joys better jail conditions than many derly were beaten during protests. frontation.
the protest, but not the suspicion. inmates. He alleged that the former “This has never happened in Paki- As the government continues
“He is being kept in solitary confine- PM has a TV, outside food, exer- stan before.” to insist that Khan is safe and PTI
ment,” Aleema insisted. “This treat- cise equipment, even “a double bed Noreen’s anger reflects a broad- continues to demand proof, one
ment is oppressive and illegal.” Her and velvet bedding” — a statement er sentiment: that the government’s truth has become undeniable: Im-
allegations only sharpened the pub- clearly intended to puncture PTI’s refusal to allow even routine family ran Khan’s silence — enforced or
lic’s sense of foreboding. narrative of mistreatment. Yet such visits has created a dangerous vacu- otherwise — has become the loudest
PTI has seized on the moment, comments did little to change the um in which rumors naturally thrive. sound in Pakistan.

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