Imran Khan’s sons speak out: “Our father’s prison conditions aren’t bad, they’re awful.” Whatever one thinks of Pakistani politics, the treatment of a former prime minister is a measure of a state’s institutional health.
Is the Paknationalism or Indophilia; the strange twist of Pakistan is that both can be true at the same time.
It was my birthday two days ago on the 15th. The official celebration will be later this month in Sri Lanka, but the last few weeks have been unusually hectic with travel and work.
The end-of-year rush is real, but there is also momentum. BRAHM just landed its second viral video. The first, a few weeks ago, crossed close to a million views and brought in over 10,000 followers. The latest is already past 4,000 likes and still climbing. It’s gratifying to see sustained resonance rather than a one-off spike.
As I get older, I find myself paying less attention to noise and more to patterns: how power is exercised, how cultures endure stress, and how certain relationships, personal and civilisational, never quite disappear, no matter how much history tries to force a clean break.
Happy Birthday!
On Imran Khan: He may be a former prime minister but he is also a criminal who incited his followers to attack Pakistan’s military installations. That is absolutely unforgivable in Pakistan. When IK was PM, Mian Sahab and Maryam Bibi were in jail. They were also treated very badly. It’s now IK’s turn.
He has officially been declared a “national security threat” by the Pakistan Army so things are not going to go well for him. For what it’s worth, I do think that–like any other prisoner in Pakistan– he should be allowed to meet his family and his lawyer. However, he should not be allowed to discuss politics with anyone. He is not above the state of Pakistan. No Pakistani is.
Pakistan Army has recently court martialed General Faiz Hameed and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. This is the first time that an ex-head of ISI has been court martialed. It’s another sign that people who think they are above the state of Pakistan need to think again.
Edit: Imran’s sons seem to think that he’s being treated worse than any other Pakistani PM. This just reveals their absolute lack of knowledge of Pakistan’s history. ZA Bhutto was literally executed by the Pakistani state. That’s not going to happen to Imran.
This was also interesting:
“Calls for Bihar CM to quit after he ‘unveils’ Muslim woman
https://www.dawn.com/news/1961600
Touching a Muslim woman’s hijab is an absolute red line. People have serious concerns about Nitish Kumar’s mental health.
Impressive, Trump claims Venezuela has stolen oil and Land from US. That would be like the Brits claiming India belongs to them
He (Trump) then warned, “It [the blockade] will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.” Minutes after the announcement:
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/hunting-season-opens-18-sanctioned-tankers-venezuelan-crude
“India’s electoral roll revision threatens democracy and Muslims, say critics”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/16/india-electoral-roll-special-intensive-revision-threatens-democracy-muslims