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Captains urge medical care
Twenty-one former international cricket captains have again appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for humane treatment and proper medical care for former Pakistan captain and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, with the appeal issued on August 23 amid concerns about Khan’s health and a court-ordered medical examination.
“The appeal was made on August 23 amid concerns about Khan’s health”
In the letter, the captains said Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to a hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, and that the Court also reinstated weekly family visits.
The captains said the hospital stay lasted only a few hours, that Khan was examined by a state-appointed team rather than the board the Court had directed, and that he was returned to Adiala Jail before that board could complete its work.
They also said their principal concern was the reported deterioration of vision in Imran’s right eye, and they urged that any treatment recommended by the assessment be provided without delay.
The appeal described Khan as 73 years old and said he has now spent more than three years in custody.
Competing accounts of tests
The captains’ letter argues that the Supreme Court-directed medical process was not carried out as ordered, saying Khan was examined by a state-appointed team, declared "medically fit," and returned to Adiala Jail before the medical board could complete its work.
The Express Tribune reported that the appeal followed a brief hospital visit by Imran this week that the former cricketers said did not fulfil the terms of the court's order, and it said they were particularly concerned about reports that Imran had suffered a significant loss of vision in his right eye.
The BBC said Khan’s party has filed a contempt petition against the government for not giving him access to his own doctors, as ordered by the top court, and it said the former captains laid out three demands including assessment by a medical board directed by Pakistan’s Supreme Court.
In contrast, the العربي الجديد reported that on August 21 Imran Khan was moved for medical tests to a government hospital rather than the hospital named in the court order, and it said the government stated Khan underwent a comprehensive medical examination at the government PIMES hospital in Islamabad.
The BBC also quoted the letter’s framing that the captains were asking for a court-ordered medical process to be completed, saying it was “not, in our view, a controversial request.”
Court order, politics, and next steps
The dispute has become a political and legal flashpoint in Pakistan, with the PTI accusing the government of not implementing the Supreme Court order directing Khan’s transfer to Shaheen International Hospital for comprehensive medical examinations and treatment.
“filed a petition in the Supreme Court accusing the government of contempt of its order”
The العربي الجديد said PTI filed a petition in the Supreme Court accusing the government of contempt of its order, and it described PTI’s claim that the government defied the August 18 directive and formed a medical board while ensuring weekly visits with his family.
The BBC said the former captains’ first demand was that Khan be assessed by a medical board directed by Pakistan's Supreme Court, including his personal physicians, particularly on the reported loss of vision in his right eye.
The BBC also said the Supreme Court had directed the government to transfer Khan to a private hospital to be examined by physicians, but that 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.
Across the appeals, the captains repeatedly asked that weekly family visits be allowed “without interruptions or administrative delays” and that any treatment recommended by the medical board be “provided without delay,” tying the next steps directly to compliance with the court’s directions.