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He publicly apologised, so I forgive him: Nasim
Ashraf
PCB soften stance on Shoaib
Monitoring Report
IN a further softening of its stance on Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan
board will no longer pursue the defamation lawsuit following a
reconciliation of sorts between Nasim Ashraf, the board chairman,
and Shoaib at the house of a top political official last night in
Islamabad.
The dinner meeting was held at the residence of Rehman Malik, a key
advisor to the prime minister in the current government on interior
affairs, in which Shoaib apologised to Ashraf. The meeting
reportedly came at the request of Malik, who called Ashraf and told
him Shoaib was ready to apologise to him personally and that the
matter should be resolved for the good of Pakistan cricket. Last
week Shoaib had also apologised publicly to the chairman and the
board.
“He has publicly and personally apologised, so I forgive him,”
Ashraf told a news agency. “My honour has been vindicated and now
the defamation lawsuit will not be pursued.”
Though the lawsuit has been dropped, the five-year ban - currently
suspended - and the appeals process against it, will remain in
place. The workings of the Appellate Tribunal remain outside the
jurisdiction of the board chairman and the appeals hearing will
resume as normal on June 4.
The PCB had, on Friday, filed the Rs 22 crore (approx US$3.37
million) lawsuit against Shoaib for comments he had made against the
PCB chairman immediately after the imposition of his five-year ban.
Shoaib had alleged on a TV show that Ashraf had demanded a share of
his salary from the IPL. He also alleged that Ashraf had tried to
extort money from other Pakistan cricketers as well.
The decision is further good news for Shoaib, following yesterday’s
decision to suspend the ban on him to allow him to play in the
Indian Premier League.
Not surprisingly, speculation that the ban is likely to be
overturned eventually has already begun, though privately, PCB
officials are believed to be adamant that Shoaib will not play for
Pakistan again.
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