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In an exclusive broadcast during the second Test at Lord's, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan - sons of legendary Pakistan captain and former Prime Minister Imran Khan - spoke with former England skipper Michael Atherton to air grave concerns regarding their father's treatment and safety in detention. In the interview, Khan’s sons opened up candidly, alleging that the Pakistan government is attempting to have their father killed.

Despite reservations expressed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Sky Sports broadcasted the interview during the lunch break after Thursday's opening session.

Key Revelations from Interview

Kasim and Sulaiman revealed that the 1992 World Cup-winning captain is kept in solitary confinement for over 23 hours a day within a miniature cell. The brothers stated that Pakistani authorities continue to deny them entry visas on "technical grounds," preventing them from visiting their father.

Expressing fear for his father's life, Kasim warned that several political detainees have passed away in custody and alleged that current authorities intend a similar fate for Imran Khan.

"They are not even acting with any kind of strategy any more. 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. The last time he was able to speak to our aunties and anyone else, he said the conditions have severely worsened recently. He has been relating it to other political prisoners who have been killed or who have died in prison. Right now, it is worse than ever, completely isolating him more than 23 hours a day in a cell," Kasim said in the interview.

"Right now, it's really crucial for us that he gets proper treatment. He had an eye patch on for the eye situation, seemed visibly stressed, and that is something that is very hard for us to imagine because he embodies a very calm, assured presence, every time I have ever seen him, including being at gunpoint. A car we were in was robbed, and he was the calmest person there, including the robbers," he added.

Following the release of the interview, reports claimed that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had approached Sky Sports with a complaint.

It was also reported that the Pakistan team initially declined to return to the field for the post-lunch session on the opening day, but eventually resumed play after intervention from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).