In a major development amid an ongoing cricket world cup, former greats Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have joined a dozen other former international captains in demanding better prison treatment for “one of the finest all-rounders” of the game, former prime minister Imran Khan.
Yesterday, former India captains Gavaskar and Kapil signed a petition expressing “deep concern” about Imran’s treatment and prison conditions. Former Australia captain Greg Chappell, his brother Ian Chappell and compatriots Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Belinda Clark and Kim Hughes have also signed the petition.
Regardless of government’s claims, it is increasingly clear that the former prime minister of Pakistan has attracted a lot of global empathy because of a variety of reasons, including the incumbent government’s lack of credibility, to say the least. That nobody buys the government’s narrative in relation to an incarcerated Imran Khan is a fact.
The government headed by Shehbaz Sharif is therefore required to take every possible step aimed at ensuring the best possible treatment of Imran Khan. It is interesting to note that the country’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi is reported to have said that the government does not want to “politicize” the issue of Imran Khan’s eye condition.
Ironically, little does he perhaps appreciate the fact that the government has already politicized the matter through its vindictive and vengeful approach to the health of an incarcerated person.
Mehbooba Riazuddin (Islamabad)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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