Imran Khan dead? Pak journo walks back on claim; PTI warns 2 million men ready

An explosive but unverified claim by Pakistani journalist Wajahat Saeed Khan added to anxieties surrounding the jailed former PM's well-being. The Emmy-nominated journalist, now based in the US, has claimed that "three senior military sources told him they believed Imran might have died in.

Wajahat's claim landed at a particularly volatile moment. On Tuesday, Imran Khan's family and colleagues of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party complained of being denied access to the former PM amid concerns over his health.

What Happened

Days later on Wednesday, Wajahat Saeed Khan walked back on his claim. In a video on YouTube, he said that the information from three senior GHQ-based officers was their personal assessment rather than confirmed intelligence.

• Former PM Imran Khan has been imprisoned since August 5, 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in the £190-million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

• His wife, Bushra Bibi, was sentenced to seven years in the same case in January 2025.

• Imran also faces pending trials linked to the May 9, 2023 protests where PTI supporters attacked Army instalments (garrisons, outposts) across Pakistan.

Key Details

He clarified that none of the officers had seen any evidence of Imran Khan's death themselves and described what they had conveyed as "fears" and "apprehensions", not news. The anxiety around Khan's well-being is now feeding into a planned showdown.

• The letter refers to a December 2025 communication from UN Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Jill Edwards, which raised concerns over Imran's detention conditions.

• The congressional letter also cited reports of severe damage to Imran's right eye and his lawyer's claim that he had lost 85% of his vision.

• The US lawmakers asked the State Department to review the couple's conditions and "address their continued detention and human rights directly with the Government of Pakistan", reported Karachi-based newspaper, The Express Tribune.WHY MUNIR-LED ESTABLISHMENT.

Why It Matters

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM and PTI leader Sohail Afridi has claimed that more than "two million people were ready to take to the streets" and warned that "the anger among Pakistan's youth could become impossible to contain" by Pakistan's hybrid regime that has.

• It separately raised concerns over Bushra Bibi's detention, including allegations about her cell, access to food and drinking water, medical treatment and restrictions on family and legal visits.

• The UN expert said reports indicated that Imran had been held in prolonged solitary confinement, sometimes for up to 23 hours a day, and called on Pakistan to take immediate steps concerning his detention.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by India Today as more details emerge