Twenty-one former international cricket captains from nine countries have urged Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure proper medical care and humane treatment for former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to news agency PTI. The appeal comes amid concerns over Khan's reported health problems in custody, including an alleged major loss of vision in his right eye.
The former cricketers' intervention follows an earlier appeal by 14 former captains around six months ago. The latest letter specifically raises questions about the implementation of a Pakistan Supreme Court order concerning Khan's medical examination. According to the letter, the court had directed that Khan undergo a comprehensive assessment by a medical board that would include his personal doctors and his sister, Uzma Khan. The former captains said Khan was instead examined for several hours by a government-appointed medical team at Islamabad's Shifa International Hospital before being declared medically fit and returned to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. They argued that the court-directed medical board had not completed its assessment. The appeal includes prominent former Indian captains Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, along with other former leaders of international cricket. The signatories said their intervention was motivated by their shared connection through the sport rather than by political considerations.
Three demands to Shehbaz Sharif
The former captains have asked the Pakistan government to ensure that the Supreme Court's directions are fully implemented. Their first request is for the court-directed medical board, including Khan's personal physicians, to conduct a complete and independent assessment, with particular attention to the reported deterioration in his right-eye vision.
They have also urged authorities to ensure that Khan's weekly family visitation rights, which were reinstated by the Supreme Court, are provided without administrative delays or obstruction. Their third demand is that any treatment recommended by the medical board should be made available without delay.
The former cricketers said medical care should be treated separately from the political and legal disputes surrounding Khan's imprisonment. Their appeal comes as concerns about the former Pakistan prime minister's health have remained a subject of public and political attention.
Concerns over medical assessment
The dispute centres on whether the medical process followed in Khan's case fully complied with the Supreme Court's directions. The former captains contend that the examination by the government-appointed medical team did not satisfy the requirement for a broader medical board assessment involving Khan's own doctors.
The signatories have particularly highlighted reports concerning Khan's eyesight. They argued that such concerns make a comprehensive examination important and called for the process ordered by the court to be completed rather than replaced by a shorter assessment.
The appeal also comes against the backdrop of Khan's prolonged imprisonment and continuing political tensions in Pakistan. The former cricketers have sought to keep their intervention focused on medical care and the implementation of judicial directions rather than the wider arguments over his legal cases.
Their letter said ensuring that a court-ordered medical process is completed should be viewed as a basic humanitarian matter, regardless of the political or legal disputes surrounding Khan. The request now places the Pakistan government under renewed attention over how the former cricket captain's medical needs and court-directed rights are being handled in custody.
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