Eventually, Khan was arrested and imprisoned. He has now spent roughly three years behind bars, with much of the past year in prolonged isolation. During this period, not a single image of Khan has been made public and the media has been barred (Opens in new window) from even mentioning his name.
During this time his health has deteriorated, including severe damage to one eye (Opens in new window) and intense psychological trauma.
Khan has nevertheless refused to give up.
That has created an unusual dilemma for Pakistan’s military, which has historically muscled out popular political leaders through imprisonments, and forced exiles.
Khan has so far refused to play that game.
At 73, he appears even more entrenched in his faith and political purpose. The result is a deadlock: the more pressure applied to break him, the more powerful the symbolism of his imprisonment becomes.
It is in this context that Pakistan’s Supreme Court recently intervened (Opens in new window) and ordered that he receive treatment at a private medical hospital, which was refused by the government.
This created the latest public outrage and drew the attention of the international cricketing community, with leading former players and captains calling for Khan to receive proper medical treatment and humane treatment in custody.
Most great cricketers play their cricket, make their money and spend the rest of their lives in retirement, administration or commentary.
Khan had other ideas.
He took the fighting spirit, discipline and lessons of the gentleman’s game and carried them into politics, determined to change a system that had condemned millions of Pakistanis to the twin curses of poverty and injustice.
For many Pakistanis, he is now paying the price for standing up to that system.
For Khan, though, it is a fight worth fighting. And perhaps the cricketer in him still sees politics the same way he once saw the game:
As long as he is at the crease, he is not out.
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