{"id":2918,"date":"2026-08-30T15:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/?p=2918"},"modified":"2026-08-30T15:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:47:12","slug":"khawaja-asif-rejects-imrans-sons-claim-of-expired-nicops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/30\/khawaja-asif-rejects-imrans-sons-claim-of-expired-nicops\/","title":{"rendered":"Khawaja Asif rejects Imran’s sons’ claim of expired NICOPs"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD<\/strong>: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that PTI founder Imran Khan\u2019s sons \u2014 Qasim and Sulaiman Khan \u2014 could visit Pakistan \u201ctoday if they wished\u201d, citing the validity of their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop).<\/p>\n

The government has consistently\u00a0maintained\u00a0that Imran\u2019s children can enter the country based on their Nicops with no visa required. However, the sons\u00a0claimed\u00a0earlier this month that their Nicops have expired and accused the government of denying them visas.<\/p>\n

In a post on social media platform X, the defence minister recalled that the ex-premier\u2019s sons had last travelled to Pakistan on their Nicops in\u00a0November 2022, when the PTI founder got injured in an\u00a0assassination attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can visit Pakistan today if they wish. Both Nicops are valid,\u201d Asif stated.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The minister dismissed the perception that the government was denying them visas as \u201cincorrect\u201d, accusing Imran\u2019s family and PTI of concocting the narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolders of Nicops can travel to Pakistan whenever they wish. There is no need for a visa,\u201d he maintained.<\/p>\n

A day earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) had\u00a0addressed\u00a0the potential arrival of Imran\u2019s sons, noting that they may enter the country through their Nicops, but that access to the country may not guarantee access to prison visitation.<\/p>\n

As Kasim and his older brother Suleiman live in London with their mother and Imran\u2019s former spouse Jemima Goldsmith, they will have to travel to Pakistan to meet Imran, who is imprisoned at Rawalpindi\u2019s Adiala jail.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, Kasim had\u00a0said\u00a0that he and his brother had applied for their visas. However, in February, Kasim claimed that the government was \u201cdeliberately\u201d\u00a0refusing\u00a0to process his and his brother\u2019s visas.<\/p>\n

The next month, Goldsmith made a\u00a0\u201cdirect appeal\u201d\u00a0to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to grant her sons visas.<\/p>\n

In response to the appeal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Imran\u2019s children were\u00a0welcome\u00a0to visit Pakistan on their Nicops.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Goldsmith alleged that the government was recommending that her sons travel to Pakistan on Nicops as they would have \u201cno British protection\u201d, expressing fear that they may be arrested on arrival.<\/p>\n

In her statement, Goldsmith had claimed that the government was refusing her sons\u2019 visas and held that they also did not have their renewed Nicops.<\/p>\n

Imran was\u00a0sent to jail\u00a0on August 5, 2023, in the Toshakhana case. However, he is also serving a\u00a014-year\u00a0sentence in a\u00a0\u00a3190 million corruption case, was\u00a0convicted\u00a0in another Toshakhana case in December 2025 and also faces\u00a0pending trials\u00a0in terrorism cases related to the\u00a0May 9, 2023 riots.<\/p>\n

The ex-premier\u2019s sons, along with his party and family, have been\u00a0protesting\u00a0against the lack of meetings and phone calls with him despite court orders for the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that PTI founder Imran Khan\u2019s sons \u2014 Qasim and Sulaiman Khan \u2014 could visit Pakistan \u201ctoday if they wished\u201d, citing the validity of their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop). The government has consistently\u00a0maintained\u00a0that Imran\u2019s children can enter the country based on their Nicops with no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pakistan"],"yoast_head":"\nKhawaja Asif rejects Imran's sons' claim of expired NICOPs - Diplomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/30\/khawaja-asif-rejects-imrans-sons-claim-of-expired-nicops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Khawaja Asif rejects Imran's sons' claim of expired NICOPs - Diplomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that PTI founder Imran Khan\u2019s sons \u2014 Qasim and Sulaiman Khan \u2014 could visit Pakistan \u201ctoday if they wished\u201d, citing the validity of their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop). 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