Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif: Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan has joined the growing chorus of voices expressing grave concern over the deteriorating health of 1992 ODI World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan, urging the government and jail authorities to ensure the 73-year-old receives immediate and proper medical care.Moin, a key member of the side that lifted the ODI World Cup under Imran’s leadership, released an impassioned video message on his ‘X’ account on Saturday and called upon the rest of cricketing fraternity to rally behind the country’s former prime minister.
Imran has been lodged at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since August 2023 on corruption charges, which he continues to deny. “Our captain Imran Khan, as you all know, is currently in Adiala jail, and his condition is quite bad at present. One more time, I will urge the authorities, the government of Pakistan and all those people who run the Adiala jail.
“My request is that our captain’s right, as a former prime minister, as a citizen of Pakistan, his right to medical care should be honoured. Whatever he needs, it should be seen to. Besides, I also urge other cricketers to speak up and voice their support for him. Imran Khan’s contribution to Pakistan cricket (is immense) and all of us who played in his era learnt a lot from him. He has given Pakistan cricket a lot,” Moin said in his video.
Moin’s plea follows a similar appeal made by batting legend Javed Miandad and comes amid mounting global concern. Recently, 22 former international captains, including past leaders from India, England, the West Indies, and New Zealand, wrote an open letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeking adequate healthcare and constitutional safeguards for Imran.
The former captains have also received public backing from Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins. The letter was a follow-up to a previously written letter 14 former captains had written in February, but it didn’t get any reply from the Pakistan government.
The political fallout extended to the ongoing Test at Lord’s, where the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged a formal complaint against Sky Sports for airing an interview with Imran’s sons Suleiman and Kasim Khan during the lunch break on day one.
Article Source: IANS
