Ex-cricket captains call on Pakistan to ensure 'proper medical care' for Imran Khan

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ISLAMABAD — 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 be given proper care while in custody.

The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since 2023 on corruption charges which he denies.

In a letter to Pakistan's current leader Shehbaz Sharif, the 21 former skippers aired concern that Khan, 73, was allowed "only a few hours" at a hospital last week where he was examined by a state-appointed team.

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 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday condemned what it called the failure of authorities to ensure a CT Coronary Angiography was conducted on him, despite doctors recommending the test over possible cardiac complications. It demanded that Khan be moved without delay to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for the procedure.

The party said the developments had raised fresh concerns over Khan's medical care in custody and accused the authorities of ignoring both medical advice and a Supreme Court order on his treatment.

Prime Minister Sharif has meanwhile formed an inquiry committee to establish the facts and fix responsibility after reports that the test was not carried out.

The former cricket captains laid out three demands in their letter, the first of which is that Khan be assessed by a medical board directed by Pakistan's Supreme Court – which would include his personal physicians – particularly on the reported loss of vision in his right eye.

They also urged authorities to allow weekly visits by Khan's family, as ordered by the court, "without interruptions or administrative delays".

Finally, they asked that any treatment recommended by the medical board 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 which was submitted in February.

Khan's lawyer claimed at the time that his client had 15% vision left in his right eye after prison authorities failed to take action.

The signatories of both letters had described themselves as "former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field", adding that the 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 has faced charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts, all of which he and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf say 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.