21 Former Cricket Captains Renew Appeal for Imran Khan’s Medical Treatment

Cricket Legends Write to PM Shehbaz Sharif

Twenty-one former international cricket captains have renewed their appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the medical treatment of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, following developments this week that they say fall short of a Supreme Court directive .

The signatories include cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Dilip Vengsarkar from India, alongside Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh, and others . The letter follows an initial appeal sent in February by 14 former captains .

Concerns Over Supreme Court Order Compliance

The captains expressed concern that Imran’s hospital stay lasted only a few hours after the Supreme Court ordered on August 18 that he be transferred to Shifa International Hospital for examination by a medical board including his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr. Uzma Khan .

“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 states .

Three Specific Requests

The former captains made three requests in their latest appeal:

1. That the medical board directed by the Supreme Court—including 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 
2. That the weekly family visits reinstated by the Court be honoured without interruption or administrative delay 
3. That whatever the outcome of that medical assessment, the treatment recommended by it be provided without delay 

Government’s Response and PTI’s Contempt Petition

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar rejected allegations of non-compliance, stating the administration fully complied with the court’s directions and that Imran’s medical examination was conducted transparently in the presence of his sister, with doctors from Shifa also present .

However, PTI filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, arguing the government’s actions amounted to “deliberate and wilful disobedience” of the court’s order . Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called the development “unfortunate,” maintaining that the court’s instructions contained no ambiguity and that Imran should have been transferred to Shifa International Hospital as directed .