![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789455139_171_41bbd81bdfa5a98f70781cb78575df66d9219510.png\")
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September 15, 2026 \u2014 11:56am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Seven former Australian cricket captains have urged Foreign Minister Penny Wong to raise concerns with the Pakistani government about the treatment of former prime minister and cricketing legend Imran Khan, fearing he will die in detention.<\/p>\n Greg Chappell, who played 87 Test matches for Australia, said he was urgently seeking a meeting with Wong to discuss Imran\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n Khan, who served as Pakistan\u2019s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been jailed since 2023<\/a> and was last year sentenced to 14 years in prison after a corruption conviction.<\/p>\n Khan, 73, has faced more than 100 legal cases since losing power in a vote of no confidence, including charges of bribery, leaking state secrets and illegally selling state gifts.<\/p>\n Most of the convictions have been overturned or suspended, and Imran has denied all the accusations. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has claimed they were politically motivated.<\/p>\n \u201cMr Khan led Pakistan to its only World Cup title. He also led his country as prime minister,\u201d Chappell and his fellow former captains, including three former Australians of the year, wrote in a letter sent to Wong on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralians hold him in great regard \u2013 as a cricketer whose skill and leadership left a lasting mark on the game we share, and as someone who has helped improve the lives of Pakistanis by building cancer hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n Allan Border, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Kim Hughes, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh also signed the letter to Wong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe take no position on the legal or political case against him. That is Pakistan\u2019s business. But the treatment of any person in detention is a matter of basic humanity, whatever their politics,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would be grateful if the Australian government could raise this directly with the relevant Pakistani authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n Wong\u2019s office was approached for comment.<\/p>\n Wong met Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in July.<\/p>\n \u201cI thanked him for Pakistan\u2019s ongoing diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue and regional stability,\u201d Wong said in a social media post.<\/p>\n Fourteen former international cricket captains from five Test teams appealed to the Pakistan government earlier this year for better prison treatment<\/a> for Khan.<\/p>\n Related Article Greg Chappell said Khan\u2019s health had deteriorated significantly since his long period in solitary confinement, and that he had lost most of his sight in one eye.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest fear is that he will die in jail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI am hoping Australia can raise this at a government-to-government level to try to improve his condition.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a humanitarian issue, not a legal or political one.\u201d<\/p>\n Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins last month joined calls for Khan to receive urgent medical care.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope Imran Khan is treated with the dignity anyone deserves,\u201d Cummins said in social media post.<\/p>\n Greens foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said: \u201cMany in the Pakistan Australian community are rightly concerned about the treatment of Imran Khan and asking why Australia is doing so little in response.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Australians have real affection for Imran Khan, we saw him as a graceful leader in the cricket world and those who have followed his career since have seen him fighting for democratic values.<\/p>\n \u201cFor months I have been asking the Australian government to make representations to the Pakistan government and direct the Australian high commission to seek a welfare check on Khan. This is the minimum we should expect in the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected allegations that Imran has been subjected \u201cto punitive solitary confinement, cruelty or deprivation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHis imprisonment follows convictions by courts of competent jurisdiction after judicial proceedings, and he remains entitled to pursue all remedies available to him under Pakistani laws,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n The ministry also said \u201cthe convicted prisoner is also permitted home-cooked food, exercise equipment and is provided appropriate dietary facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/7c2962d4a55a50752e01a3baf0fbdf84136747c8.jpeg\")
Former Pakistani prime minister and cricketer Imran Khan has been jailed since 2023.AP<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9974552b9c487f03116cb42a0ad3e5f5962f7ac8.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789455142_129_41bbd81bdfa5a98f70781cb78575df66d9219510.png\")
Matthew Knott<\/a> is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 15, 2026 \u2014 11:56am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-892591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}