Following the release of over 1,000 pages from American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's trial this week, some have claimed that former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan could have been one of the clients.
Given the claims, The Friday Times conducted a fact-check investigation to determine the facts.
The claim
Earlier this week, a US court started releasing documents (thus far numbering around 1,200 pages) from the trial of Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein and Maxwell were convicted of child sex trafficking, serving some of the world's most powerful and wealthy individuals on their private islands.
Epstien's list of clients includes illustrious names such as Britain's Prince Andrew - who is accused of having an orgy with underaged girls on Epstien's private villa in the US Virgin Islands.
Others include former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and scientist Stephen Hawking, among dozens of others.
In Pakistan, some people have claimed that former prime minister Imran Khan was possibly one of Epstien's clients.
The evidence
As evidence, people present two exhibits.
The first are a series of images of Imran Khan from a party in London in 1990.
The images, contributed by Alan Davidson, were taken at an event at the Savoy Hotel to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Imran Khan was attending the event wearing a black suit with a bow.
At the event, he was snapped with Ghislane Maxwell, a known collaborator of Epstein, and a glass of orange juice in his hand.
Imran Khan with Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffery Epstein associate) probably telling her "Epstein ko mujhse behtar koi nahi jaanta" pic.twitter.com/KagxBpbSWi
— Anas Tipu (@teepusahab) January 4, 2024
The second evidence is an interview of former fast bowler Wasim Akram, which he gave while promoting his memoir [Sultan].
In the interview, Akram was asked about his time experiencing the nightlife with Imran Khan, the Pakistan national team captain at the time and who had developed a reputation of being a playboy.
Akram, after narrating a tale of going to a nightclub where female fans surrounded Imran, he told how they travelled to a private island.
"He took us and one of his friends, and she - a female - took us to the airport, Akram said, adding, "She had her own plane. So we sat on a private plane, and about 45 minutes ride [motions of landing] into a deserted island."
"They went into 'chat' into the house. I said okay, what should we do now? We can't even go back to the hotel. We are on an island in the middle of South America."
Some are pointing out this disclosure by Akram as proof that Imran had gone with Maxwell, aboard her private plane, to Epstien's island.
The facts
While the pictures indeed show Imran with Maxwell, Imran was known to socialise in the upper echelons of British society during his playing days and after, especially following his marriage with Jemima Goldsmith. However, the depth of Imran's ties with Maxwell are not known at this point.
However, Akram's tale is not clear about the identity of both Imran's lady friend and andthe particular island. Epstein owned two islands located side by side, Little Saint James and Great Saint James. Neither island has an airstrip for planes to land or take off, and Akram does not clarify if they took a seaplane or had a stopover to switch to a helicopter or boat.
The biggest evidence of Imran's involvement, or not, however, comes from the documents released by the court.
The 1,200-odd pages do not contain any mention of Imran Khan by name or variation of his name, nor his profession. Wasim Akram is not mentioned either.
Reaction
Meanwhile, Akram took to the social media site 'X', formerly Twitter, to counter one such claim, terming it "lies".
Stop spreading lies you muppet https://t.co/fNhlKmHMs1
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) January 5, 2024
Conclusion
While there are a few names that remain hidden due to the threat that could be posed to them because of the country they are in currently, there is no other information in the released papers thus far that would confirm that Imran ever visited Epstein's island.
However, a team playing against the West Indies on any of its islands would be close enough to visit Epstien's island, particularly if he played in St Kitts and Nevis.
But based on the evidence available at the moment, it does not suggest Imran Khan visited Epstein's island.