LHC orders PCB to decide Wasim's appeal

LAHORE, Jan 6: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to decide former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram's appeal against the penalty recommended by Justice Malik Qayyum (retired) of the LHC.

In his one-man inquiry commission report on match-fixing allegations (whose excerpts were released by the PCB in May 2000), Justice Qayyum had recommended that Wasim be fined Rs300,000 by the PCB and should not be appointed as captain of the Pakistan team in future.

Justice M. Javed Buttar disposed of the appeal with the orders that the PCB should give an opportunity to Wasim by conducting a formal hearing of his appeal and decide the matter within one month.

Najamul Hassan Kazmi, the counsel for the petitioner, argued before the court that Wasim's appeal against the findings of the inquiry commission had been filed before the PCB some 18 months ago and had not been decided as yet for some unknown reasons.

As argued by the petitioner, the PCB had no moral and legal grounds for delaying the hearing of the appeal since this delay could cost him his international fame and he wanted to get himself exonerated of match-fixing allegations at the earliest.

It was submitted that the penalty pronounced by the inquiry commission was recommendatory in nature and was not binding on the PCB since that the commission did not enjoy the status of a court of law.

The petitioner alleged through his counsel that this penalty had been recommended without giving him an ample opportunity to defend himself and subsequently, the PCB had further employed delaying tactics to hear his version in this regard.

The court was requested to issue directions to the PCB for deciding Wasim's appeal at the earliest. The petitioner submitted that in case the court did not deem it proper to issue directions to the PCB, it should conduct the hearing of his appeal itself.

The court, however, observed that the PCB was the proper platform for hearing the appeal since it had already been moved by the petitioner and it should decide the matter accordingly.

Meanwhile PCB has refusedto comment on the decision of the Lahore High Court, directing it to decide former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram's appeal againstthe penalty recommended by former Justice Malik Qayyum.

When contacted, a PCB spokesman said that the board did not receive the decision officially and any comment could be offered after getting it.