A group of former cricket captains, including Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and one of England's longest‑serving skippers Sir Alastair Cook, have called on Pakistan to ensure its ex‑PM Imran Khan receives proper care while in custody.
Imran Khan, 73, has been jailed since 2023 on corruption charges he denies. In a letter to Pakistan's current leader Shehbaz Sharif, the 21 former skippers voiced concern that Khan was allowed only a few hours at a hospital last week where state‑appointed doctors examined him.
Khan's party has also filed a contempt petition against the government for not giving him access to his own doctors, as ordered by the top court.
The captains laid out three demands in their letter. First, Khan should be assessed by a medical board directed by Pakistan's Supreme Court – including his personal physicians – particularly on the reported loss of vision in his right eye.
Second, authorities should allow weekly visits by Khan's family, as ordered by the court, without interruptions or administrative delays.
Finally, any treatment recommended by the medical board should be provided without delay.
"Imran Khan is 73 years old and has now spent more than three years in custody," read the letter initiated by former Australian captain Greg Chappell.
“Whatever the legal and political arguments surrounding his case, the basic decency of ensuring a court‑ordered medical process is actually completed is not, in our view, a controversial request.”
Among the other signatories were England's Michael Atherton, Michael Brearley, Nasser Hussain, Andrew Strauss and David Gower, India's Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, and Australia's Belinda Clark, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh and Kim Hughes.
Fourteen of the former skippers had also supported an earlier appeal for “humane treatment and proper medical care” for Khan, submitted in February.
Khan's lawyer claimed his client had 15% vision left in his right eye after prison authorities failed to take action.
The signatories described themselves as “former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field,” adding that this bond “transcends the borders and disputes that too often divide countries.”
Khan, who previously captained the Pakistan national cricket team, served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022.
He was imprisoned in August 2023 and faces charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts, all of which his party Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf says are politically motivated.
His jailing sparked large‑scale protests by supporters, which were met with a crackdown by authorities.
Pakistan's Supreme Court had on Tuesday directed the government to transfer Khan to a private hospital to be examined by physicians.
He was instead seen by doctors at a government‑run hospital in Islamabad, who deemed him “medically fit”, before he was moved back to prison.
