'No doubt' Imran Khan's sons will visit Pakistan: PTI

• Ex-PM sons are currently in US to lobby for father's release.
• "News circulating regarding Imran's children completely false.
• PTI spox says date of his children's arrival is yet to be finalised.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday denied reports that party founder Imran Khan had barred his sons from visiting Pakistan, asserting they will definitely come.

"The news circulating in the media regarding Imran Khan Sahib's children is completely false. Imran Khan sahib has absolutely not stopped his children from coming to Pakistan," PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said in a statement on X.

Sources had earlier said that the PTI founder had barred his sons — Suleman Khan (28) and Kasim Khan (26) — from visiting Pakistan, emphasising that they would not participate in any protests, set to take place in a few days for his release.

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition's no-trust motion in April 2022.

"I would request those media friends who report from Adiala to only broadcast exactly what Khan sahib says. It is inappropriate to take things out of context, selectively, or to present conversations according to their own wishes," Akram said.

The PTI spokesperson said that there should be "no doubt" in anyone's mind that Imran Khan's children will not come to Pakistan.

"So far, only the date for this has yet to be determined. And everyone should remember that when they decided to come, they clearly told their father that we are not seeking your permission but informing you. So, avoid propaganda because they are of no use."

The former prime minister's sons are in the United States meeting the country's lawmakers, reportedly to lobby for their father's release, ahead of their expected visit to Pakistan before the August 5 protest.

Khan's sister, Aleema Khan, had also announced that his sons would be taking part in the protest, which would be staged for the ex-premier's release.

As per sources, Khan had said: My sons will not be coming to Pakistan. They will neither be part of any protest nor will they lead any protest."

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also said that the party is not in contact with the sons, but it is their right to meet their father.

Kasim called attention to their father’s imprisonment for the first time publicly in May. Taking to X in June, he expressed concern over Imran’s condition in the jail.

He wrote: "My father, former prime minister Imran Khan, has now spent over 700 days in prison — held in solitary confinement. He is denied access to his lawyers, not allowed visits from his family, fully cut off from us (his children), and even his personal doctor is refused entry. This is not justice. It is a deliberate attempt to isolate and break a man who stands for rule of law, democracy and Pakistan."

The former ruling party formally launched its anti-government campaign, set to reach its "peak" by August 5, following a high-level huddle in Lahore earlier this month.

Among other objectives, the protest movement is aimed at securing release of party founder Imran Khan, who will complete two years in jail on August 5.

The Imran Khan-founded party's latest round of anti-government drive comes months after its negotiations with the government stalled over the issue of the formation of judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots and November 2024 Islamabad protest.