Afridi’s lawyer wants open hearing

Amicable solution to tussle urged, NOC sought for Hampshire stint.

LAHORE:

Retired Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has shown his reservations at the disciplinary committee hearing due to take place on Wednesday and has requested, through his lawyers, that the session is not a closed one.

In a strongly worded reply to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB), a  copy of which is with The Express Tribune, the former captain’s legal representative Barrister Syed Zafar Ali has questioned the legality of any closed session while stressing that the ‘PCB has already made up its mind’ and that Afridi is guilty’.

“The PCB wants a closed session of the hearing which is unconstitutional in this country,” Ali told The Express Tribune. “The hearing, along with PCB’s act against Afridi, is illegal.”

Afridi’s lawyer had earlier said that their priority was to get the matter resolved amicably. However, they have kept all options of taking on an aggressive approach open, if things do not work out favourably for the all-rounder.

“I stand firmly against the PCB’s act of suspending my client’s contract and the NOC to play county cricket without providing him a chance to explain his position,” added Ali.

The PCB had summoned the all-rounder to appear before an internal disciplinary committee comprising Sultan Rana, Shafiq Ahmed and Usman Wahla following his admission that he had breached the code of conduct.

Meanwhile, PCB officials are insisting that proceedings of the committee will be conducted in-camera and no outsider will be allowed to attend it.

“This is an internal disciplinary hearing and does not require legal assistance,” said a board official. “The process is crystal-clear and any announcement by the committee depends upon the defense’s reply. The announcement might come on the same day or may take more than one day. So it all depends on the arguments given in the hearing.”

Afridi, who announced his retirement from international cricket earlier last week in protest against his sacking as captain, had communicated to the PCB through his legal representatives to grant him special permission to play for Hampshire, while admitting that he had violated the terms of his central contract.

At the end of the reply, Afridi’s lawyers have urged the PCB to ‘treat the matter as one of national importance’ and allow him to honour his lucrative Hampshire commitment, believed to be around £45,000.





Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2011.