Wasim Akram urges ‘fair treatment’ for Imran Khan
LONDON: Pakistan cricket great Wasim Akram has urged authorities to give Imran Khan, his jailed former captain and ex-prime minister, “fair treatment”. Imran, 73, has been imprisoned since 2023 and was sentenced late last year along with his wife to 17 years on corruption charges they both deny. During lunch on the first day of the recent second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s, Sky…
LONDON: Renowned Pakistani former cricket player Wasim Akram has called for Imran Khan, the jailed ex-captain and previous prime minister, to receive "fair treatment" from authorities. Imran, 73, has been incarcerated since 2023, having been handed a 17-year sentence for corruption allegations he and his wife vehemently deny. During a lunch interview on the first day of the recent second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s, Sky Sports aired an exchange conducted by ex-England captain Michael Atherton with Imran’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman.
In the conversation, the brothers severely criticized their father's treatment by Pakistani authorities. Certain reports indicated that the Pakistan Cricket Board might have been so angered by the broadcast that they contemplated refusing to allow their team to take the field after the interval. However, no boycott took place, and the match proceeded as planned.
Despite the setback, Pakistan ultimately lost the game to England by 194 runs, resulting in the team slipping to a 2-0 deficit in the series.
In August, Atherton joined a group of 21 former cricket captains, including India's Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, who had appealed on behalf of Imran to be granted humane treatment and basic human consideration by the Pakistani government. Wasim Akram commented on the matter to the 'Old Boys, New Balls' podcast, hosted by another former English captain Ian Botham.
Akram expressed his sentiments towards the now-imprisoned Khan, stating, "We would like to thank all the captains that recently signed a petition for Imran. I feel for the skipper, I miss him as a friend, I miss him as a mentor, we miss him as a leader. We haven’t seen his picture for three years." The left-arm pacer, who was an integral part of Imran's team that won the 1992 World Cup in Australia, concluded his remarks by saying, "What we want from this government is to give him [Imran] the fair treatment, like other politicians had before.
Fingers are crossed, Inshallah [God willing] the whole nation is behind him and he’ll be out [soon]." This article was published in Dawn on September 9th, 2026.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
