PCB legal advisor initiates defamation proceedings against Shoaib Akhtar for "highly inappropriate" remarks
Apr 29, 2020
Lahore [Pakistan], April 29 : Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) advisor Tafazzul Rizvi has initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against the former pacer Shoaib Akhtar for his "highly inappropriate and disrespectful" remarks against the country's cricket governing body and its legal department.
In a statement, PCB on Wednesday expressed disappointment over Akhtar's "poor choice of words".
"The PCB is disappointed with Shoaib Akhtar's poor choice of words while publically commenting about the PCB's legal department and its legal advisor. The language used by Shoaib Akhtar was highly inappropriate and disrespectful, and cannot be condoned in any civilized society," PCB said in a statement.
"The PCB's legal advisor, Taffazul Rizvi, in his own discretion, has initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against Shoaib Akhtar, while the PCB too reserves its rights," it added.
Earlier, Akhtar had called the PCB and their legal team incompetent. His remarks came after Umar Akmal was given a three-year ban for not reporting a match-fixing offer.
"Why cannot you make match-fixing a criminal offence in Pakistan? You can give a jail term or seize the offenders' property, it will put fear in people, the PCB and their legal team are being incompetent, why there is no legislation to criminalise match-fixing," Akhtar had said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
"Now there are people who are asking PCB to bring in legislation to criminalise match-fixing. I want to ask those people what did you do when you held positions in the PCB. There is an urgent of bringing such a law and this can only be done in the national assembly," he added.
Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel Justice (retired) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan on Monday announced the decision to ban Akmal for three years.
