Former captains make fresh appeal to Pakistan PM for Imran Khan's medical treatment

Twenty-one former international cricket captains from around the world have written another letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealing for the medical treatment of former captain Imran Khan. It is the second such letter written by captains, as earlier 15 players had written to Shehbaz Sharif expressing concerns about Khan’s health.

The latest letter comes after recent developments, as the government has fallen short of the Supreme Court’s directives in ensuring the well-being of the former Pakistan captain. In the letter, the former cricketers stated that Khan’s hospital stay was relatively short and he wasn’t properly examined.

"Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The Court also reinstated weekly family visits. These were very welcome steps. Concerningly, Mr Khan's hospital stay lasted only a few hours. He was examined by a state-appointed team rather than the board the Court had directed, declared "medically fit," and returned to Adiala Jail before that board could complete its work,” the letter read as per Cricinfo.

In the letter, the former players have made three specific requests:

• That the medical board directed by the Supreme Court - including Mr Khan's own doctors - be permitted to complete a full and independent assessment of his health, particularly the reported loss of vision in his right eye.
• That the weekly family visits reinstated by the Court be honoured without interruption or administrative delay.
• That whatever the outcome of that medical assessment, the treatment recommended by it be provided without delay.

It’s the second such appeal to Pakistan's Prime Minister in six months. Earlier this year in February, 14 former captains wrote to express deep concern over Khan's health following reports of an eye condition that left him almost completely blind in one eye, as per his family, amid allegations of medical neglect in prison.

The 21 signatories on the letter include Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar, David Gower, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh and John Wright, among others.

Imran Khan's sentences

Khan, who served as Pakistan's prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been handed several prison sentences since his removal from office. They include corruption cases that resulted in sentences of 10, 14 and 17 years. Ahead of the 2024 elections, he was also sentenced to seven years in prison in a marriage-related case for marrying his current wife without waiting the appropriate time after her divorce.

Several human rights organisations have also expressed concern over the fairness of his trial and the state of his conditions in prison. However, the Pakistan government has denied all the allegations.

Captains' list

Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Lee Germon, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Steve Waugh, John Wright