KARACHI, March 5: Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Waseem Akram has stepped up in the field of social welfare and announced to establish a trust foundation Diabetes Education and Awareness to fight against the silent killer disease.

Himself a diabetic, the cricketer said eight to ten million people in the country were suffering from diabetes. He said if concrete measures were not taken, Pakistan could become the fourth largest country facing the challenge of diabetes by the year 2025.

TV artist Sajjid Hasan, a DEA director, said artists had always supported the cause of public welfare and now they were with Waseem Akram in his struggle. A fund-raising cricket match DEA cup is scheduled for April 6 in Abu Dhabi, where Pakistani and Indian artists would join him.

Bilquis Edhi, meanwhile, announced an initial grant of Rs0.5 million to the DEA.