ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Twenty-one former international cricket captains have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure immediate medical treatment for former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan, calling for access to an independent medical assessment and regular family visits.

The former captains made three demands in a letter to Shehbaz: that Khan be provided medical treatment without delay in line with a Supreme Court order, that his family be allowed to visit him every week, and that his reported eye problem be independently assessed and treated.

The signatories include former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, as well as former England captains Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss.

Other former captains named in the letter include Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Arjuna Ranatunga, Allan Border, Steve Waugh, David Gower, John Wright and Clive Lloyd.

The former cricketers said they were writing as Khan's former colleagues rather than politicians, stressing that cricket had brought them together across national and political boundaries.

Calls for independent medical examination

The letter comes after Khan was taken from Rawalpindi's Adiala prison to Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Aug. 20 for a medical examination before being returned to prison.

The government said security concerns prevented Khan from being transferred to Shifa International Hospital, where the Supreme Court had ordered that he receive treatment.

The government has said Khan was found to be medically fit after examination at PIMS. Pakistan's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), however, has challenged that account and filed a contempt petition, arguing that the court's order was not followed.

The former captains called for the medical board ordered by the Supreme Court to independently assess Khan's health, particularly reports that he has suffered a loss of vision in his right eye.

They also called for his family to be allowed weekly visits without administrative delays or restrictions.

Family raises concerns

Khan's sister, Dr Uzma Khan, who met him during his examination at PIMS, later said he had complained about being kept in isolation and not receiving the medical treatment he had requested.

PTI has repeatedly alleged that Khan is being held in isolation at Adiala prison and has not been provided adequate medical care. The government has rejected those allegations and said medical facilities are made available to him whenever required.

Information Minister Atta Tarar said Khan's transfer to PIMS was made because of security concerns surrounding Shifa International Hospital. He also said doctors from Shifa were present during the examination.

The government has not yet publicly responded to the latest letter from the former cricket captains.

No Pakistani former captain among signatories

The letter follows a similar appeal in February, when 14 former Test captains called on the Pakistani government to allow Khan access to doctors of his choice and regular meetings with his family.

The latest appeal has seven additional former captains but, like the earlier letter, does not include any former Pakistani captain.

The absence of Pakistani signatories has previously prompted debate on social media, while former Pakistan captains Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja have separately spoken in support of providing Khan with medical care.

The former captains said in their latest letter that whatever the legal circumstances surrounding Khan's imprisonment, a request for medical examination and treatment in accordance with a Supreme Court order should not be considered controversial