Will evaluate Modi visa application on merits: US

Washington, October 12: Without directly naming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a senior State Department official has said that US will evaluate any visa application based on merits and according to US laws.

"As you probably know, we don't get into questions of visa matters on any particular individual. That said, we of course will evaluate any visa application based on its merits and in accordance with US law, so I don't have anything further on that specifically," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike hammer told reporters at a news conference yesterday.

Hammer was responding to a question on Narendra Modi in the aftermath of Britain taking decision to end its decade long policy of no-contact with him, which it took after the communal riots in the Gujarat a decade ago.

"Is there a shift in the US policy towards Modi, or not yet?" Hammer was asked in view of the latest decision taken by the British Government.

The British decision to resume its contact with Modi was noted in several major American media outlets.

"Being a business-friendly government official in one of the world's fastest- growing economies can erase a lot of political baggage," The Washington Post said referring to the British decision, adding, that this may just be the beginning of an end to his international pariah status.

"I have asked the British High Commissioners in New Delhi to visit Gujarat and to meet the chief minister and other senior figures in the state," Hugo Swire, the new British minister in charge of India, said in a statement yesterday.

"This will allow us to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest and to explore opportunities for closer cooperation," the statement added.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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