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

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that PTI founder Imran Khan’s sons — Qasim and Sulaiman Khan — could visit Pakistan “today if they wished”, citing the validity of their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop).

The government has consistently maintained that Imran’s children can enter the country based on their Nicops with no visa required. However, the sons claimed earlier this month that their Nicops have expired and accused the government of denying them visas.

In a post on social media platform X, the defence minister recalled that the ex-premier’s sons had last travelled to Pakistan on their Nicops in November 2022, when the PTI founder got injured in an assassination attempt.

“They can visit Pakistan today if they wish. Both Nicops are valid,” Asif stated.

He also shared partially censored Nicop numbers for both Kasim and Sulaiman, stating that the document was valid until Nov 8, 2032 for Kasim and Jan 6, 2030, for Suleman.

The minister dismissed the perception that the government was denying them visas as “incorrect”, accusing Imran’s family and PTI of concocting the narrative.

“Holders of Nicops can travel to Pakistan whenever they wish. There is no need for a visa,” he maintained.

A day earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) had addressed the potential arrival of Imran’s sons, noting that they may enter the country through their Nicops, but that access to the country may not guarantee access to prison visitation.

Zulfi Bukhari, adviser to Imran on foreign media, responded to the government’s stance on his recent CNN interview with a lengthy statement. He reiterated his claims of the PTI founder being kept in “solitary confinement” and detailed medical concerns raised in a doctor’s assessment submitted to the Supreme Court.

Sons want to meet their father

As Kasim and his older brother Suleiman live in London with their mother and Imran’s former spouse Jemima Goldsmith, they will have to travel to Pakistan to meet Imran, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.

In December 2025, Kasim had said that he and his brother had applied for their visas. However, in February, Kasim claimed that the government was “deliberately” refusing to process his and his brother’s visas.

The next month, Goldsmith made a “direct appeal” to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to grant her sons visas.

In response to the appeal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Imran’s children were welcome to visit Pakistan on their Nicops.

Meanwhile, Goldsmith alleged that the government was recommending that her sons travel to Pakistan on Nicops as they would have “no British protection”, expressing fear that they may be arrested on arrival.

In her statement, Goldsmith had claimed that the government was refusing her sons’ visas and held that they also did not have their renewed Nicops.

Imran was sent to jail on August 5, 2023, in the Toshakhana case. However, he is also serving a 14-year sentence in a £190 million corruption case, was convicted in another Toshakhana case in December 2025 and also 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 against the lack of meetings and phone calls with him despite court orders for the same.