‘This isn’t politics’: Brian Lara calls for dignified medical care for Imran Khan

West Indies great batter says World Cup-winning captain deserves medical care with compassion and dignity

Web DeskSeptember 06, 20265 min read

Legendary West Indies batting great Brian Lara on Saturday joined a group of cricketers expressing support for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and calling for proper and independent medical care for the former Pakistan captain.

In a post on Instagram, Lara said he and Imran had crossed paths on the field only a handful of times, but the respect he had for him was “instant and lasting”.

“I am struggling to understand how someone who was once a beacon of hope, pride and inspiration for his country, at the height of his sporting career, could now find himself in a situation where he is not being cared for and treated with the compassion and dignity he deserves,” he said.

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Lara said he stood with his fellow former captains in asking that Imran receive proper, independent medical care and the dignity every human being deserved.

“This isn’t politics. It’s basic humanity for a legend of our game,” he added.

Last month, 22 former international cricketers, including 21 ex-captains, appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure that Imran received medical treatment in accordance with recent Supreme Court directives.

The signatories included 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 and John Wright.

Imran, a former international cricket star who led Pakistan to its only men’s 50-over World Cup title in 1992, became prime minister in 2018 and was removed from office in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.

He has been imprisoned since August 2023 and has faced convictions in several cases.

Last month, a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed issued an interim order directing that Imran be provided medical treatment in accordance with the court’s directives.

The court ordered authorities to transfer Imran, 73, from Adiala Jail to Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital within two days for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board. The board was to include specialists such as an ophthalmologist and cardiologist, while Imran’s personal physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, were to be allowed to remain associated with his medical examination and treatment.

The court also ordered the authorities to facilitate regular family contact. Reports on the order said Imran was to be allowed weekly meetings with family members and telephone conversations with his sons.

The SC said the state had a constitutional and legal responsibility to safeguard the life, health, dignity and security of people in custody, noting that imprisonment does not remove a prisoner’s entitlement to humane treatment and necessary medical care. The directions were issued as an interim arrangement and the government was told to comply with them “in letter and spirit” until the next hearing.

The proceedings followed petitions by Imran’s family and supporters seeking access to his personal physicians, family members and medical records, as well as his transfer to a private hospital for treatment. His sister Uzma Khan had separately approached the SC after an Islamabad High Court ruling rejected a request for his hospitalisation and access to his personal doctors and family.

Imran was subsequently taken for a medical examination but was returned to Adiala Jail after only a few hours.

Read: Govt calls SC order to shift Imran to private hospital ‘discriminatory’, files review petition

His party has said the government failed to comply with the SC’s direction because Imran was examined at the state-runPakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) rather than receiving the comprehensive assessment at Shifa International Hospital envisaged by the court. PTI has also filed a contempt petition over the issue.

Government officials have defended the decision, citing security concerns. The government has rejected allegations of medical neglect and mistreatment, saying Imran had undergone numerous medical examinations and that doctors had found him in good health.

The former captains’ letter, however, says Imran was examined by a state-appointed team, declared “medically fit” and returned to prison before the court-directed medical board could complete its work. His family and legal team have argued that this did not meet the SC’s requirements.

The cricketers made three specific requests to the government: that the medical board ordered by the SC, including Imran’s own doctors, be allowed to complete a full and independent assessment; that weekly family visits be honoured without interruption or administrative delays; and that any treatment recommended by the assessment be provided promptly.

They said their principal concern was the reported deterioration of vision in Imran’s right eye.

“We’re not asking Pakistan for anything unusual, just that a court order most countries would take for granted is actually carried out,” Chappell said, according to the appeal.

The letter is the second such appeal by former international captains this year.

In February, 14 former captains, including Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Chappell and Lloyd, wrote to PM Shehbaz expressing ‘deep concern’ over Imran’s health and prison conditions. They called for adequate medical attention, dignified treatment and access to legal processes.

The February appeal came after reports that Imran’s eyesight had deteriorated severely while he was held at Adiala Jail. His family and lawyers said at the time that he had lost a substantial proportion of vision in his right eye, while Pakistani officials disputed claims of medical neglect and said his condition had improved.

Imran’s current eye problem has been described in reports as right central retinal vein occlusion, or CRVO, a condition affecting blood flow in the retina. The issue has been the subject of repeated legal and political disputes over the adequacy of his treatment and access to specialists.