Claim: A video shared on 20 August 2026 shows Imran Khan announcing that he has received bail in all cases and is now free.
Fact: The footage is from 12 May 2023, when Khan received interim and protective bail, along with temporary protection from arrest. He remains in custody in August 2026.
On 20 August 2026, the Facebook page Public Lens Pakistan posted a video of former Prime Minister Imran Khan speaking from inside the Islamabad High Court. Text overlaid on the video said in Urdu, “I have been granted bail in all cases,” and, “I am completely free.” The caption said Khan had appealed to the public to remain prepared for a peaceful protest. The post did not mention when the video was recorded.
A screenshot of a Facebook reel posted by Public Lens Pakistan on 20 August 2026, claiming Imran Khan had received bail in all cases and was “completely free”.
Other Facebook and Instagram accounts also shared the same footage and wording, with some using similar hashtags.
Khan’s medical treatment
The reel circulated amid renewed attention on Khan’s health and medical treatment in custody. In January 2026, he was taken from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, where he underwent a 20-minute procedure for an eye condition after specialists recommended further assessment and treatment. Concerns about his eyesight continued in the following months, while his lawyers and family sought greater access to specialist doctors and his personal physician.
On 18 August 2026, the Supreme Court directed authorities to transfer Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within two days for examination and treatment by a medical board. The board was to include a physician, general surgeon, specialist in internal medicine, eye specialist, and cardiologist. The court also permitted Khan’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, and his sister Dr Uzma Khan to remain associated with his examination and treatment.
An excerpt from the Supreme Court’s 18 August 2026 order directing authorities to transfer Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital within two days. Screenshot: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf/X
The federal government filed a review petition on 19 August, seeking the recall of the order and arguing that transferring a prisoner to a private hospital conflicted with the existing legal framework. During the night of 20 and 21 August, authorities took Khan to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), rather than Shifa International Hospital, and returned him to Adiala Jail at around 5 am. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Khan was taken to PIMS because of security concerns along the planned route to Shifa and that doctors had declared him medically fit. PTI said the change of hospital and lack of access to his personal physician violated the Supreme Court’s directions.
At a press conference on 21 August, Khan’s sister Dr Uzma Khan said he appeared physically fit and that his blood pressure was normal, but said he had complained about his treatment in custody. She quoted him as saying he had been subjected to “cruelty” and said he had complained about prolonged solitary confinement and lack of human contact. Dr Faisal Sultan said he had been taken separately to Shifa International Hospital, where he waited for around two and a half hours before being told Khan was unlikely to arrive. PTI said it would file a contempt petition over what it described as non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s order. Reuters reported that there was no immediate response from the interior and law ministries or jail authorities to its request for comment on Khan’s torture allegation.
Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023. His family and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have repeatedly raised concerns about his health and access to doctors, while government officials have maintained that he is receiving medical care in accordance with prison rules. The dispute over his treatment and possible transfer from Adiala Jail was receiving significant coverage when Public Lens Pakistan posted the video on 20 August.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check searched for phrases from the clip and found the original video on Khan’s official YouTube channel. It was uploaded on 12 May 2023 with the title, “Get ready for peaceful protest | Chairman Imran Khan Exclusive Message to Nation.” The recording followed Khan’s arrest by Rangers at the Islamabad High Court on 9 May 2023 in the Al-Qadir Trust case. In an order issued on 11 May, the Supreme Court declared the manner in which the arrest warrant was executed inside the Islamabad High Court “invalid and unlawful” and directed Khan to appear before the IHC the following day.
On 12 May, the Islamabad High Court granted Khan bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case. An official IHC judgment issued later, while recounting the case’s procedural history, records that Khan appeared before the court on 12 May and was granted ad-interim bail. The IHC also barred authorities from arresting him in cases registered across Pakistan until 15 May, stopped his arrest until 17 May in cases registered in Islamabad after 9 May, and granted him protective bail in several Lahore cases. Dawn reported the scope and time limits of the relief.
Khan remained inside the court for several hours after the hearings. In the original video, he complained that he was being kept at the court despite receiving bail, adding that there was no case against him and that he was free. He then called on the public to prepare for a peaceful protest if the court’s decisions were not followed. Aaj News reported the same remarks on 12 May 2023.
At the time the video resurfaced, Khan was and still remains in custody. On 21 August 2026, Reuters reported that authorities had taken him to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad for a court-ordered medical examination before returning him to Adiala Jail early that morning. The hospital visit was not indicative of a release from custody.
Virality
Soch Fact Check identified at least 22 Facebook and Instagram posts carrying the video or presenting the same claim. Five were posted on Instagram and 17 on Facebook.
As of 21 August 2026, posts for which engagement figures were visible had collectively received at least 88,447 likes or reactions and 147,702 views.
Multiple accounts shared the same version of the video carrying the Public Lens Pakistan watermark, while several also used similar captions and hashtags.
Conclusion: The video is from 12 May 2023, not August 2026. Khan has not been released from jail at this time. The posts are misleading because they present old footage as a current development in his incarceration
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