“Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan,” the letter says. “The Court also reinstated weekly family visits. These were very welcome steps. 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.”
- That the medical board directed by the Supreme Court – including Mr 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.
- That the weekly family visits reinstated by the Court be honoured without interruption or administrative delay.
- That whatever the outcome of that medical assessment, the treatment recommended by it be provided without delay.
The signatories, who describe themselves as writing “not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field,” are careful to note that they do not seek to adjudicate Pakistan’s domestic legal processes.
The 21 signatories on the letter include Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar, David Gower, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh and John Wright among others.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights are among the organisations to have expressed concern over the fairness of his trial and the state of his conditions in prison. His sons have said Imran remains in a “death cell” where he has been subjected to psychological torture. The Pakistan government has repeatedly denied all such claims.
Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Lee Germon, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Steve Waugh, John Wright
