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| December 10, 2006 | Sunday | Ziqa'ad 18, 1427 |
Did PCB chief try to influence doping verdict?
LAHORE, Dec 9: Pakistan cricket, reeling under a spate of unwanted controversies in recent month, was rocked by yet another one on Saturday with reports of Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf trying to influence the judgements of the Anti-Doping Commission and the PCB’s Appeals Committee in the cases involving fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif last month.
According to reports published one of the country’s leading English dailies, Dr Ashraf desperately attempted to get the suspended duo freed of the doping charge by writing a strong-worded letter to the Anti-Doping Commission, headed by Barrister Shahid Hamid, to consider all aspect before reaching a decision on the players.
The newspaper said that Shahid Hamid confirmed that he had received the letter while informed sources revealed that the PCB chairman had been directly involved in trying to subvert the due process and in swaying the judgement of the Commission, though, without much success.
Shahid, a former Punjab governor, maintained that the pressure brought on him through chairman’s letter was resisted with great determination, and his Commission arrived at its verdict in a manner most forthright. "I am positive that we made a correct appreciation of the fact and correct application of the law", the paper quoted him as saying.
Shahid also admitted that he was so incensed at receiving the missive from the PCB chief that he called Moeen Afzal, a retired federal secretary of some standing and a member of the PCB’s Advisory Council, and let rip.
Recounting his exact words, Shahid said that he told Afzal that the contents of the letter were "insulting, out of order and tantamount to influencing the judgement of the Commission."
Through Moeen Afzal, Shahid reportedly passed on the message to the PCB chairman "not to send any further letter or note till after the Commission had reached its verdict."
The newspaper quoted Shahid telling Moeen Afzal that in the circumstances he would not be talking to the PCB’s imported counsel Mark Gay, as Dr Nasim Ashraf wanted him to because "we did not need his input in reaching our verdict".
The PCB chief, however, was singing to another tune on Friday when he stated that Shoaib and Asif would be banned if they failed another test before the World Cup. "They were let off by the appeals committee because it worked under the PCB anti-doping regulations. They were lucky. But if they test positive in an ICC tournament, they will be automatically banned for two years and though there is an appeals process, I don't think we will be able to do anything," he was quoted as saying. —Agencies
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