ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The sister of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has allayed fears among his supporters in Pakistan and abroad about his health.

On December 2, after visiting her brother in Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi, Uzma Khan told reporters that the imprisoned former prime minister was in good health but was largely being kept under solitary conditions.

Authorities allowed her the first family visit in weeks after earlier dismissing rumors about his condition as baseless.

Since 2023, Imran Khan, 73, has been in prison on corruption and other charges. His supporters and the former cricket star have alleged these are aimed at blocking his political career. His wife, Bushra Bibi, is serving time in the same prison on corruption charges but cannot meet him except when they appear in court, his supporters claim.

Speaking to reporters in Rawalpindi, Uzma Khan said her brother was "perfectly in good health" but furious over the largely solitary conditions in the prison.

"When I met him, he was very angry," she said, quoting him as saying that the "mental torture" of his solitary conditions is "worse than physical abuse."

Supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had gathered outside Adiala Prison, anxious to hear news about Khan. They waited until his sister emerged from the facility to make her brief statement.

Authorities in Islamabad issued a ban order against rallies and deployed hundreds of officers around the prison.

Khan's spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, said only one sister was allowed a brief meeting. He said Khan's family and legal team should be allowed regular meetings.

Khan lost a no-confidence vote in April 2022, and his party is in opposition in parliament. Khan and his party often allege that their mandate was stolen in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which they say were rigged in favor of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — a charge the government denies.

Khan has been convicted on several charges, ranging from corruption to revealing state secrets, and is serving multiple prison terms concurrently, meaning he serves only the longest term.