Imran Khan should get fair treatment, Wasim Akram says

Cricket great Wasim Akram has urged authorities to give jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan “fair treatment”.

Akram, a former Pakistan teammate of Khan, made the appeal on the “Old Boys, New Balls” podcast. He thanked former international cricket captains who recently signed a petition calling for Khan to be treated humanely and with “basic human consideration”.

Khan, 73, has been imprisoned since 2023. He and his wife were sentenced late last year to 17 years on corruption charges, which they both deny.

Sky Sports recently broadcast an interview at Lord’s by former England captain Michael Atherton with Khan’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman. During the interview, they criticised their father’s treatment by Pakistani authorities.

Akram was a key member of the Pakistan team led by Khan that won the 1992 World Cup. He said he missed Khan as a friend, mentor and leader, and wanted the government to give him the same fair treatment as other politicians.

Khan served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and Pakistan’s military establishment.

He has since faced multiple legal cases on corruption and other charges. Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, maintain that the cases are politically motivated. His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023, some of which turned violent and led to hundreds of arrests.