Aleema clarifies Imran's sons applied for both Nicop, visa

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan's sister, Aleema Khanum, clarified on Saturday that his sons have applied for National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicops) as well as visas to visit Pakistan.

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Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. His sons, Sulaiman Khan and Kasim Khan, have been protesting his incarceration, but uncertainty remains as to whether they will be visiting Pakistan.

A day ago, Aleema said they had applied for visas and were waiting for approval from the interior ministry. That had prompted Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry to ask why they would need visas if they had the Nicop, as she had previously said.

Clarifying the matter on Saturday while speaking to reporters at Adiala Jail, she said: “The Nicop of one [of the brothers] is missing and the other can’t find his card so they've submitted two applications: one to issue their Nicop, which is valid for the next six to seven years ... and they have also applied for the visa which can be issued within an hour.

“It's their choice. They have Nicop, they have British passports. So what issue do they (the interior ministry) have in issuing a visa?”