Sky Sports has aired the Pakistan government’s response to claims made by the sons of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan during its coverage of the second Test between Pakistan and England at Lord’s.
The broadcast also included a statement from the UK government, which backed Pakistan’s position that the matter is a domestic one.
Sky Sports aired Pakistan government’s response, as reported by AP. The government rejected allegations that Khan has been mistreated or denied proper medical care while in custody. It described Khan as being held as a “convicted prisoner” in a seven-cell compound equipped with exercise facilities, with access to home-cooked food, books and television.
The government said Khan has received more than 900 visits from family, lawyers and doctors since his imprisonment in 2023, and that he was returned to prison after doctors examined him and found him medically fit.
Sky Sports also aired a statement from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. An FCDO spokesperson said, “Pakistan’s judicial processes are a domestic matter in which the UK does not interfere.” The spokesperson added, “UK Ministers and officials have regularly raised with Pakistani counterparts the need to uphold Pakistan’s constitution and international human rights obligations, including with respect to Imran Khan.”
The broadcast followed a dispute that began when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an interview with Khan’s sons during the lunch interval on the first day of the Lord’s Test.
Earlier this week, a group of 22 former international cricket captains wrote a second letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, renewing their appeal for Khan to receive proper medical treatment. The signatories included Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Greg Chappell and Ian Chappell. It marked the second such letter sent to the prime minister within six months, following an earlier appeal in February signed by 14 former captains.
