Akram serves legal notice on Sarfraz

By Rizwan Ehsan Ali

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 6. Wasim Akram wants former Test paceman Sarfraz Nawaz to issue an unconditional apology or face a legal suit of Rs. 10 million for making false allegations against him before the Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari Commission. Akram has sent a legal notice to Sarfraz through his lawyer Zahid Ibrahim - son of former Law Minister Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim who cleared Salim Malik after Mark Waugh and Shane Warne had accused former Test batsman of offering them money during the 1994 series in Pakistan.

Sarfraz was given seven days to issue an unconditional apology for his statement to Justice Bhandari in which he alleged that Akram has assets of Rs. 3 billion and was one of the key suspect in fixing international matches. The Bhandari Commission is investigating charges of match-fixing against Pakistan players for losing two 1999 World Cup matches against Bangladesh and India in England.

This is not for the first time that Sarfraz has levelled allegations against me. This time he has to issue unconditional apology or he has to face the legal suit, Akram said. Akram had sought the permission from the Pakistan Cricket Board before serving the legal notice to Sarfraz. I have consulted the PCB and it has allowed me to defend myself. I am tired of such baseless allegations against me and dirty politics to defame me has to stop, said a fuming Akram.

However, Sarfraz believed that Akram should have approached the Bhandari Commission instead of serving a legal notice on him. I have said nothing in the press. I fail to understand on what grounds Wasim's legal counsel had sent me the notice. Whatever I said is before the commission, if they have problems with that they should approach the Commission.

There is no question of issuing an apology. They should first find out from the commission what I have actually said. Zahid in his notice to Sarfraz, has said that he had leveled false and defamatory allegations against the Pakistan cricket and his client before the Inquiry Commission of Justice Karamat Bhandari of the Lahore High Court on 2.9.01.

Following is the text of notice: ``According to domestic and international news reports, you have falsely alleged before the Inquiry Commission that certain matches of the Pakistan cricket team led by our client during the 1999 World Cup were `fixed'. ``Equally false and preposterous is your malevolent claim that our client is a ``major player in the match fixing saga'' and has assets of over Rs. 3 billion,'' said the notice.

``The above defamatory statements are not only false, but exceptional for their unrestrained malice. With vicious single mindedness you have sought to incite hatred against our client and ruin his career and life. There is no factual basis or other justification for such a defamatory attack on our client.''

``It is either professional rivalry or the eagerness for cheap publicity which has motivated you to steep to disappointingly desperate levels of malice. In either event, you have exposed yourself to a serious claim for damages, which are conservatively estimated at Rs. 10,000,000.''

``Your aforesaid defamatory statements have caused severe pain, agony and distress to our client, his family, and friends. Therefore, you are hereby called upon to tender an unconditional apology to our client within seven days of the receipt of this letter.'' ``Failure to issue such an unconditional apology will leave our client with no alternative but to initiate legal action against you for damages in an appropriate court of law.''

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