PCB's legal advisor sends Rs.100 million notice to Shoaib Akhtar

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi has sent Rs.100 million notice to former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar for his defamatory remarks regarding the Umar Akmal case. Rizvi has asked Akhtar to retract his statement while tendering an unconditional apology.

Akhtar, while speaking on a local news channel and his YouTube channel on Tuesday, had accused Rizvi of having a personal agenda against Pakistan cricketers, after the board announced a three-year ban on middle-order batsman Akmal.

"The PCB's legal department is rotten to the core. Tafazzul Rizvi in particular is one such individual. He has deep connections and has been with the board for 10-15 years," said Akhtar. "The thing that angered me the most was when he dragged Shahid Afridi in courts. I believe that stars are born and must be respected, and these lawyers use our high-profile cases to earn fame."

"He is an idiot of the highest order and has lost cases against me, Afridi, doping case ... everything. What he does is that he pits PCB against its players and profits off of their legal wrangles," he added.

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The PCB, in the following statement, expressed their disappointment over Akhtar’s aforementioned public comments.

“The PCB is disappointed with Shoaib Akhtar’s poor choice of words while publically commenting about the PCB’s legal department and its legal advisor. The language used by Shoaib Akhtar was highly inappropriate and disrespectful, and cannot be condoned in any civilised society. The PCB’s legal advisor, Mr Taffazul Rizvi, in his own discretion, has initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against Shoaib Akhtar, while the PCB too reserves its rights.”

The vice-chairman of Pakistan Bar Council, Abid Saqi, has also come out in support of Rizvi and said that an attack on the integrity of an advocate is tantamount to interfering with the legal profession and is, hence, unacceptable.

"The Pakistan Bar Council takes strong exception to yesterday’s defamatory statements of ex-cricketer Shoaib Akhtar made public through television channels and social media, against a senior member of the Bar Mr. Taffazul Rizvi, ASC,” said Saqi.

“Shoaib Akhtar, while commenting on the ban imposed against another cricketer under anti-corruption code, has falsely raised accusations against Mr. Rizvi, while he has been performing his professional duties as a duly appointed Advocate for the PCB,” he added. “Shoaib Akhtar should refrain from attempting to stop any Advocate from performing his duties, and his actions are culpable under various laws of Pakistan.”

Criminal Complaint, under cybercrime law, has also been submitted to Federal Investigation Agency by Rizvi against Akhtar.