“We are planning to lodge an appeal to have a stay order against proceedings”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Pakistan batsman Khalid Latif has said that he will not appear before the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-corruption panel again as he is concerned about the integrity of their investigation.
Latif has been charged with six breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code in relation to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) corruption scandal, but with the board having found new evidence against him, he was issued another notice to appear before the PCB’s Security and Vigilance Department.
The 31-year-old has challenged the charges against him and appear in front of a three-man tribunal, which consists of Wasim Bari, Tauqir Zia and Asghar Haider, on May 5.
However, Latif’s lawyer is against the three-man tribunal that has been put together to hear the case.
“We are working on filing an appeal against the constitution of the tribunal which is not made in the line of fairness and natural justice,” Latif’s lawyer Badar Alam told ESPNcricinfo. “All three members have been associated with the PCB in various capacities and have been beneficiaries from the PCB.
“Most recently, Wasim Bari was the Pakistan team manager. We protested this and even challenged it in the Lahore High Court but the writ was rejected by the Honourable Court. But before the next hearing we are planning to lodge an appeal to have a stay order against proceedings.”
According to the PCB, this is the first time Latif or his lawyer have raised any objections.
“They at the preliminary hearing failed to raise any objection to the members of the tribunal,” the PCB’s legal advisor, Taffazul Haider Rizvi, told ESPNcricinfo. “Therefore, now their reaction is solely an afterthought, and clearly an attempt to delay proceedings.
“The writ petition filed by them in the Lahore High Court also stands dismissed by the Honourable Court and so now, they are raising frivolous objections to proceedings. As far as the tribunal is concerned, it was formed according to the PCB’s Anti- Corruption Code with persons of impeccable repute as its members.”