Family reveals female cricketer was under 'extreme stress'

Halima's family said lawsuit had pushed her over the edge.

A female cricketer who committed suicide by drinking acid was under extreme stress after an administrator sued her for pursuing a sexual harassment case against him, her cousin said on Thursday.

Halima Rafique, a 17-year-old all-rounder from the central city of Multan died in her home on Sunday in a case that has shocked both fans and women's rights activists, who have accused cricket authorities of covering up her damaging claims.

Rafique along with four other domestic cricketers -- Seema Javed, Hina Ghafoor, Kiran Irshad and Saba Ghafoor -- had jointly leveled the charges against Multan Cricket Club chairman Maulvi Sultan Alam and selector Mohammad Javed in a television show in June last year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a two-member inquiry committee which in October cleared the officials of any wrongdoing and banned all five women from playing for six months.

Three of the women changed their statements before the committee, while Ghafoor and Rafique declined to appear, amid speculation that the women had been pressured to back down.

Last week, Alam filed a defamation case against the television channel officials as well as the cricketers seeking damages of  Rs20 million.

Halima's family said the lawsuit had pushed her over the edge.

"It's tragic," Rashid Rafique, cousin and brother-in-law of Halima told AFP from Multan on phone. "She was very worried and we feel that the tension took her life."

Punjab law minister Rana Mashood, also a minister for sports, has ordered an inquiry.

But Rafique requested privacy in to allow them to grieve properly.

"Halima's mother has been bed-ridden since the tragedy and she is a heart patient," said Rafique.

He described Halima as a bubbly personality and a cricket fanatic.

"She was very cheerful and wanted to be an international cricketer," reminisces Rafique. "At a very young age, she used to bowl fast and bat like a batsman and realising her interest we allowed her to play cricket.

"We never knew that her small wishes, her interest in the game will take her life," said Rafique, who used to drive her to and from the stadium.

"She was a mad fan of Shahid Afridi," said Rafique of Pakistan's popular male all-rounder. "When Afridi won the match against India in the Asia Cup in February this year she went berserk and celebrated it for several days."