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Cricket Players‘Trying to kill him’: Imran Khan’s sons fear for their father’s life, detail plight inside Pakistan prison
Imran Khan's sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, provide an update on their father's condition in jail.
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Imran Khan’s sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, raised serious concerns about their father’s health and prison conditions, claiming that the former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister is being subjected to prolonged isolation and inadequate medical care. Speaking to former England captain and Sky Sports commentator Michael Atherton, the brothers said that they fear for their father's well-being, questioning the treatment Imran has been receiving while in prison.
Kasim and Sulaiman spoke at length about what they described as a worsening situation for their father, who has been imprisoned in Pakistan for nearly three years. Kasim claimed that Imran has lost around 80 per cent of the vision in one eye and said the former Pakistan captain had recently been seen wearing an eye patch.
The brothers also alleged that Imran spends more than 23 hours a day alone in a small cell and has limited access to books and basic comforts. They said the cell also lacks air conditioning during the summer.
“They are not even acting with any kind of strategy any more. It is not very clear what they are doing, just blatantly trying to kill him in there. Keep him in as long as possible, and silence him. The last time he was able to speak to our aunties and anyone else, he said the conditions have severely worsened recently. He has been relating it to other political prisoners who have been killed or who have died in prison. Right now, it is worse than ever, completely isolating him more than 23 hours a day in a cell," Kasim said in the interview, which was aired during the lunch break of the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Thursday.
“Right now, it’s really crucial for us that he gets proper treatment. He had an eye patch on for the eye situation, seemed visibly stressed, and that is something that is very hard for us to imagine because he embodies a very calm, assured presence, every time I have ever seen him, including being at gunpoint. A car we were in was robbed, and he was the calmest person there, including the robbers," he added.
The brothers also spoke about their efforts to visit Imran. They claimed that their visas to Pakistan had been blocked on what they were told were technical grounds. Despite concerns that they could potentially face arrest, the brothers said they were prepared to take the risk of travelling to Pakistan if it meant being able to see their father.
“We were cautiously optimistic. Our fears were confirmed when, instead of being taken to the private hospital, where he was meant to be taken, he was just taken to a government medical facility for a few hours, and then taken straight back to jail," said Sulaiman.
“In reality, it was an hour check-up by government officials who said, ‘Great, he’s OK’, and then said we will now send him to the independent hospital, Shifa. Instead, they left all the doctors waiting, our auntie waiting, who is a doctor, and sent him straight back to jail," he added.
The interview came days after renewed international concern over Imran’s medical treatment. The former Pakistan prime minister was taken to a government hospital for a medical examination after a court order concerning his treatment.
Interview ruffles feathers in PCB
The interview subsequently triggered a major controversy involving the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports over the broadcast. Reports also indicated that the PCB considered asking Pakistan’s players not to return to the field after lunch if the interview was aired, although the team eventually resumed play.
Recently, a group of former international captains, including Indian greats Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, wrote to Shehbaz Sharif, urging his government to ensure that Imran receives proper medical treatment and humane conditions in prison. The appeal was presented as a humanitarian intervention rather than a political statement.
The signatories included several prominent former captains from different generations of international cricket. Imran remains one of the most important figures in Pakistan cricket history. He captained the country to its first men's ODI World Cup title in 1992 before moving into politics and eventually becoming Pakistan’s prime minister.
