Tears rolled down Javed Miandad’s weathered cheeks as the legendary Pakistani batsman spoke from a grief too heavy to contain in making an emotional appeal for jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s release.
Javed Miandad, one of Pakistan’s greatest cricketers, broke down repeatedly on Thursday as he made a raw, emotional, and deeply personal appeal for the release of his former teammate, who has been incarcerated in solitary confinement.
Miandad’s voice cracked from the very first sentence as he spoke about Khan’s suffering in an interview with Narratives TV.
“I can’t stop thinking what he would be going through,” Miandad said of Khan’s ordeal in an anguish cry.
He said it is wrong to detain Khan. “Everybody should try to understand we are all Pakistanis.”
Finally Pakistani great Javed Miandad coming out in support of Imran Khan. pic.twitter.com/ehtVXTEjzd
— Mohammad Zubair (@Real_MZubair) August 28, 2026
A Friendship Forged in Cricket
For nearly two decades, Miandad and Khan were inseparable on the field — comrades in arms who lifted Pakistan to its greatest cricketing heights, crowning it with the 1992 World Cup glory.
Now, Miandad watches from the outside as his old friend sits alone in a cramped cell, locked away for 23 hours a day, according to his family, with no fresh air, no new books, and no human contact.
“We had good relations and we played good cricket,” Miandad said, his words punctuated by sobs.
“He has been unnecessarily detained. He is also someone’s son. We were close together. We lifted Pakistan to great heights.”
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His appeal was not political the cry of a man who cannot bear the thought of a brother suffering alone.
“Please resolve everything — that is my appeal,” he pleaded, looking directly into the camera as if speaking to the conscience of a nation.
“Will He Eat Up Pakistan?’
Miandad grew visibly frustrated when speaking his mind about the political justification for Khan’s continued detention.
He dismissed the notion that releasing the 72-year-old former premier would pose any threat to the state.
“What difference will it make if he is freed from jail?” Miandad asked, his voice rising with emotion.
“Will he eat up Pakistan? We are all Pakistanis.”
“Whatever I am saying is straight from heart. You have brought out my tears.”
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He reminded his listeners that their shared identity transcends politics, power, and punishment.
“We held aloft the Pakistani flag. We played for Pakistan. We are all one under the Pakistani flag. Everything (divisions) end. That is also patriotism.
“We fought for Pakistan. We performed for Pakistan,” he said, each word heavier than the last.
A Desperate Plea for Mercy
Miandad returned again and again to Khan’s character — a man he insists is fundamentally honest, a man who never stole, never cheated, never betrayed the country he served.
“He is an honest person and he did not steal anything,” Miandad said emphatically.
“He did everything for Pakistan, gave it all to Pakistan.”
He appealed to the government directly, urging them to rise above vendetta and find a humane resolution.
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“It is my earnest request — we should find a decent solution, sit down together and resolve this because he is a widely respected person. He gave so much to Pakistan in his field. We should live amicably, lovingly. It does not make that big a difference. Things happen, come and go. We should get over if something went amiss. It’s human to err. We should bury it now.”
Then, his voice dropped to a near-whisper, heavy with dread.
“God forbid, if something happens to him, the entire country will cry. He is a sportsman. Release him. It will not cost you anything.”
‘It Will Be Highly Regrettable’
Miandad’s mind clearly wandered to the darkest possible outcome. He spoke of Khan not as a political figure, but as a legend — a man whose name is etched into Pakistan’s identity.
“It will be highly regrettable if something happens to the legend,” he said, shaking his head slowly.
He acknowledged the chaos of Pakistani politics with a weary sigh: “In Pakistan, what does not happen? Many wrong things happen. May this issue be resolved.”
“We are all Pakistanis,” he repeated, as if the sentence itself were a prayer.
Miandad’s fears are not abstract. They are grounded in the harrowing reality described by Khan’s sisters Aleema Khanum, and Uzma Khan, and his sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, who spoke recently with their own visible anguish about their father’s catastrophic decline behind bars.
Thank you, Michael Atherton @Athersmike for speaking up for Imran Khan’s right to proper medical treatment. While he is enduring brutal solitary confinement and severe mental and physical mistreatment.
You chose to stand on the side of humanity and bring his plight before the… pic.twitter.com/kl79RRqPTv
— Historian (@Historian7278) August 28, 2026
“He has lost 80 per cent of his vision in one eye,” Sulaiman revealed, his voice shaking.
“He lives in a very small cell without any new books, for 23 hours a day, with no proper air conditioning in summer. His blood pressure is rising due to the stress of isolation and solitary confinement.”
Kasim accused the authorities of deliberately subjecting his father to conditions that go far beyond punishment.
“They are not even acting with any kind of strategy anymore,” Kasim said.
“It is not very clear what they are doing — just blatantly trying to kill him in there. Keep him in as long as possible, and silence him.”
In a recent conversation with his sister Dr. Uzma Khan, the former prime minister reportedly drew a grim parallel between his own treatment and that of other political prisoners like former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who died in custody.
The Weight of a Nation’s Conscience
Miandad did not speak as a politician. He did not speak as an analyst. He spoke as a friend — a friend who cannot sleep, who cannot stop imagining the suffocating silence of that small cell, the heat, the blindness creeping in, the loneliness eating away at a man who once commanded stadiums.
“I will do everything I can,” Miandad vowed through his tears. “I pray that this issue be resolved.”
Javed Miandad said he is ready to do anything that helps secure freedom for Imran Khan.
“Release him. It will not cost you anything.”
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as a correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
Asim Tanveer is a seasoned journalist working for TV and electronic and print media outlets. He has been working for some of the world’s leading news organizations including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, BBC, CNN, CNBC, Star TV, Voice of America and The New York Times for more than 20 years. He has won several awards for his live coverage of events that include a Reuters News Agency World Award and the Pride of Performance award in 2010.
