Is Imran Khan still alive? Family, marriages and the life behind Pakistan’s ex-PM amid death rumours

Rumours surrounding the death of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan have been circulating for days, creating widespread concern both inside and outside the country. His family has accused the government of keeping him in isolation for weeks, while reports have also claimed that he has been beaten in jail. Despite these allegations, Pakistani authorities insist that Imran is “fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.” As his son and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party demand “proof of life,” questions have grown about the man and the family that has long stood beside him.

Imran Khan was born on 5 October 1952 in Lahore to Ikramullah Khan Niazi and Shaukat Khanum. His father was a civil engineer from Mianwali who studied at Imperial College London and later worked for Pakistan’s Public Welfare Department. His mother was a gentle and respected homemaker from the Burki Pashtun tribe. Her death in 1985 had a lasting effect on Imran and inspired him to establish a cancer hospital in her name. Speaking about her suffering, he once said, “I saw someone that close to me, for two months, in extreme pain… I think that suffering touched me very deeply. It was like a watershed in my life.”

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Imran shares a close bond with his four sisters. Rubina Khanum, the eldest, is a London School of Economics graduate who worked with the United Nations. Aleema Khanum is well known as an entrepreneur and philanthropist and remains active in Imran’s charitable institutions. Uzma Khanum, a surgeon, and Rani Khanum, involved in charity work, largely stay away from public attention. Jemima Goldsmith once described them as “strong educated women with lives of their own”.