'They can come to Pakistan today': Khawaja Asif disputes claim by Imran's sons of expired Nicops

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif clarified on Sunday that Imran Khan's sons, Qasim and Sulaiman Khan, could visit Pakistan "today if they wished," emphasizing the validity of their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicops). The government has consistently assured that Imran's children can enter the country based on their Nicops without requiring a visa.

However, the sons had previously stated that their Nicops had expired and accused the government of denying them visas. In a recent social media post, Asif reminded that the sons' last visit to Pakistan was in November 2022 when Imran was injured in an assassination attempt. He shared partially censored Nicop numbers for both Kasim and Sulaiman, stating their validity until November 8, 2032, and January 6, 2030, respectively.

Asif dismissed the notion of visa denial as "incorrect" and accused Imran's family and PTI of fabricating the story. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had previously acknowledged that the sons could enter the country using their Nicops but did not guarantee access to prison visitation. Responding to the government's stance, Imran's foreign media adviser, Zulfi Bukhari, in a lengthy statement on CNN, maintained his claims about Imran being held in solitary confinement and shared medical concerns raised in a doctor's assessment to the Supreme Court.

The sons, residing in London with their mother and Imran's ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith, would need to travel to Pakistan to meet their father, currently imprisoned at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail. In December 2025, Kasim had claimed that his family had applied for visas, but in February, Kasim asserted that the government was "deliberately" refusing to process their visas.

Goldsmith had made a direct appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to grant her sons visas, claiming the government recommended they travel on Nicops as they would lack British protection and might face arrest upon arrival. Goldsmith alleged that the government was withholding her sons' visas and denied they possessed renewed Nicops.

Imran was imprisoned on August 5, 2023, in the Toshakhana case and serves a 14-year sentence in a £190 million corruption case, another Toshakhana conviction in December 2025, and faces pending trials in terrorism cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots. The ex-premier's sons, along with his party and family, have been protesting for more frequent meetings and phone calls with Imran, despite court orders for the same.