Twenty-one former Test and international captains from around the world have written another letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging him to ensure a medical examination and appropriate treatment for former Pakistan captain and former prime minister Imran Khan.
According to cricket website Cricinfo, the former captains said in their letter that the Supreme Court had directed that Imran Khan be shifted to a hospital for a medical examination by a medical board that would include his personal doctors and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The court had also ordered the restoration of weekly family meetings.
The former captains expressed concern that Imran Khan’s stay at the hospital was limited to only a few hours and that, instead of the medical board directed by the Supreme Court, he was examined by an officially appointed team, which declared him medically fit and transferred him back to Adiala Jail.
The former captains made three demands, including allowing the medical board to conduct a complete and independent examination of Imran Khan in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order, particularly regarding the reported loss of vision in his right eye.
They also called for weekly family meetings to be ensured without interruption and for any treatment recommended on the basis of the medical examination to be provided immediately.
Those who signed the letter include Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Belinda Clark, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Steve Waugh and John Wright.
The former captains clarified that they were making the appeal not as politicians but as former teammates and opponents of Imran Khan on the cricket field, and that they did not intend to interfere in Pakistan’s internal legal matters.
This is the second letter sent to the prime minister by former international captains in six months. In February this year, 14 former captains had also expressed concern over Imran Khan’s health and reports of an alleged impairment of vision in one eye.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar said in a press conference regarding the former captain’s health that the Supreme Court’s order had been fully implemented and that a transparent medical examination had been conducted.
Atta Tarar said Imran Khan’s sister and a doctor from Shifa Hospital were present during the examination. He said all requirements of the Supreme Court’s order had been fulfilled.
The information minister further said the examination was conducted transparently and all security and other arrangements had been completed. He said the administration had ensured implementation of the Supreme Court’s order in accordance with the Constitution and law and that all legal requirements had been fulfilled.
