By Sumayya
ISLAMABAD — Renowned international cricketers have issued a fresh appeal to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, submitting a formal letter that demands immediate medical attention for former sports icon and politician Imran Khan.
A collective of 22 previous international cricket captains, featuring prominent Indian figures like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev alongside Australian legends Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell, endorsed a second formal message to the Pakistani prime minister inside a half-year period.
This updated petition emerged shortly after the former premier underwent a clinical assessment at a state healthcare facility in Islamabad. The medical evaluation proceeded with one of his sisters present, after which the politician was transferred back to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, with medical staff pronouncing him entirely healthy.
Nevertheless, the assembly of athletic legends raised serious concerns regarding the protocol utilized for the political leader’s clinical review.
“The apex legal authority of Pakistan explicitly mandated that Imran Khan be relocated to a medical facility to undergo a comprehensive evaluation by an independent medical council, an administrative body that was supposed to comprise his dedicated private medical personnel along with his sibling, Dr. Uzma Khan,” the sporting figures specified within their formal correspondence. “Worryingly, the former prime minister’s clinical assessment wrapped up after only a brief duration. He underwent examination by a panel handpicked by government administrators instead of the specific commission the judiciary had ordered, was abruptly pronounced entirely healthy, and escorted back to the Rawalpindi detention center before the legally designated oversight team could finish their assessment.”
The 73-year-old political figure directed the national team to their historic 1992 global championship victory and subsequently operated as the chief executive of the federal government from 2018 up until his removal through a parliamentary process in 2022.
A group of 22 former national captains clarified that they have no intention of interfering with Pakistan’s internal judicial proceedings. Instead, they addressed the prime minister as former teammates and competitors of Imran Khan, united by their shared history in cricket.
Earlier in February, a group of 14 international cricket veterans voiced anxieties regarding Khan’s physical well-being. This followed a statement from his relatives claiming he had lost roughly 85% of his vision in the right eye, which state officials contested. Government representatives subsequently announced that medical treatment was successfully reversing the deterioration.
Furthermore, Khan’s legal team and relatives have charged the administration with violating a judicial directive to grant him a medical evaluation at Islamabad’s private Shifa International Hospital. Over the weekend, state authorities dismissed these claims, asserting that private specialists had already checked Khan, and explaining that security liabilities prevented his transfer to the Shifa facility.
The government said Khan’s supporters had begun gathering outside the private hospital in violation of the court order, which required them to stay away from the medical facility to avoid inconveniencing other patients.
State officials dismissed claims from Khan’s relatives asserting he faced harsh treatment, psychological distress, punitive isolation, and inadequate healthcare. Detention stems from his status as a sentenced offender, not an executive directive, the Ministry of Information clarified, noting over 900 authorized visits and regular communication with family and counsel since 2023.
