United States (US) President Donald Trump’s Envoy for Special Missions, Richard Grenell, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday to share a photo where he's meeting jailed former premier Imran Khan’s sons Suleman Khan and Kasim Khan, advising them to “stay strong”.
He welcomed his “friends” in California, writing, “I loved hanging out with you [Suleman Khan and Kasim Khan] today.”
“There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions. You are not alone. #freeimrankhan,” he added.
When a social media user with the handle @AsadMalik123 thanked him for meeting Imran Khan’s sons upon the request of the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and appreciated his “sincere leadership in working towards releasing #imrankhanPTI”, Grenell responded, “Thank you! We are in this fight together.”
Following the crackdown of security forces on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demonstrators on November 26, 2024, in Islamabad, Grenell initially posted on his account on X in favour of Imran Khan, writing, “Free Imran Khan!”. However, he did not receive much attention at that time.
He was discussed in Pakistani politics on December 15, when Trump appointed Grenell as his aide in his administration. His social media posts then were amplified by PTI supporters.
In December last year, during his appearance at the US media outlet Newsmax, Grenell claimed that Donald Trump shared a host of allegations with Imran Khan. “There are a lot of the same allegations just like President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison and created some sort of corruption allegations and false allegations (sic),” he said.
Come August 5, Imran Khan will have completed two years in jail, as in 2023, on the same day, he was apprehended from his residence at Zaman Park Lahore, shortly after his conviction in the Toshakhana case. Currently, he is being held in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi under B-class facilities due to his status as a former premier.
'%3e%3crect%20y='0.445312'%20width='48'%20height='48'%20rx='24'%20fill='white'%20fill-opacity='0.5'/%3e%3crect%20x='0.5'%20y='0.945312'%20width='47'%20height='47'%20rx='23.5'%20stroke='%23808080'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M34.625%2024.4453L14%2024.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M23.375%2034.4453L13.375%2024.4453L23.375%2014.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cfilter%20id='filter0_b_489_44344'%20x='-12'%20y='-11.5547'%20width='72'%20height='72'%20filterUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3e%3cfeFlood%20flood-opacity='0'%20result='BackgroundImageFix'/%3e%3cfeGaussianBlur%20in='BackgroundImageFix'%20stdDeviation='6'/%3e%3cfeComposite%20in2='SourceAlpha'%20operator='in'%20result='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'/%3e%3cfeBlend%20mode='normal'%20in='SourceGraphic'%20in2='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'%20result='shape'/%3e%3c/filter%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'%3e%3crect%20y='0.445312'%20width='48'%20height='48'%20rx='24'%20fill='white'%20fill-opacity='0.5'/%3e%3crect%20x='0.5'%20y='0.945312'%20width='47'%20height='47'%20rx='23.5'%20stroke='%23808080'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M13.375%2024.4453L34%2024.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M24.625%2014.4453L34.625%2024.4453L24.625%2034.4453'%20stroke='%23808080'%20stroke-width='0.920053'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cfilter%20id='filter0_b_489_44344'%20x='-12'%20y='-11.5547'%20width='72'%20height='72'%20filterUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3e%3cfeFlood%20flood-opacity='0'%20result='BackgroundImageFix'/%3e%3cfeGaussianBlur%20in='BackgroundImageFix'%20stdDeviation='6'/%3e%3cfeComposite%20in2='SourceAlpha'%20operator='in'%20result='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'/%3e%3cfeBlend%20mode='normal'%20in='SourceGraphic'%20in2='effect1_backgroundBlur_489_44344'%20result='shape'/%3e%3c/filter%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
