A policeman escorts arrested former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed (C) as he is pushed in a wheelchair at a hospital in Lahore. —AFP

LAHORE Former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed said he was innocent on Friday and vowed to defend himself in court after his arrest for allegedly giving false cheques to a client.

Ijaz was due to appear in court in Lahore on Friday but was taken to hospital after his health deteriorated.

`I have not done anything wrong,` Ijaz told AFP. `The police have mistreated me and I am in hospital after an attack of asthma. I will defend myself in the court once my condition gets stable.`

`I vomited blood and experienced difficulty in breathing, so doctors put me on artificial respiratory system for sometime. It has been very frustrating because I have not done anything wrong.`

`These clients owe me money and instead they made a false case against me,` he added.

The 40-year-old coaches students on fielding at the National Cricket Academy run by the Pakistan Cricket Board in Lahore and also runs a private business.

`This is a land scam case under which Ijaz was on bail. His bail expired on Thursday and we arrested him on charges of giving false cheques to a business party,` Superintendent of Police Rana Abdul Jabbar said, adding cheques worth 10.05 million were involved.

The official said Ijaz had been due to appear before a court Friday.

`We were due to present Ijaz in the court later Friday but it may be delayed after he was shifted to a local hospital following an asthma attack,` the official said.

Ijaz played 60 Tests and 250 One Day Internationals for Pakistan between 1987 and 2001 and was a member of Pakistan`s World Cup-winning team in 1992.

Ijaz`s lawyer Kashif Javed condemned his client`s arrest.

`The case is false and instead we demand the money from people,` Javed said.

`My client was pushed, the police pulled him from his hair and treated him badly,` said the lawyer, who claimed the cheques were issued four years earlier and had expired.

`The two cheques in question were issued in 2004 and were for cash, no names were written on them. As per rules, cheques expire after six months, so there was no issue,` claimed Javed.

Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, a brother-in-law of Ijaz, said the arrest was unjust.

`Ijaz has never done any crime, others owe him money rather than the other way round,` said Malik, who was banned for life after a match-fixing inquiry in 2000.

Former colleagues Wasim Akram and Aqib Javed, assistant coach of Pakistan team, also visited Ijaz in police custody after his arrest on Thursday.