Report on preliminary inquiry by team management by Pakistan Cricket Board

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Player:	Shoaib Akhtar
Event:	VB Series 2004/05

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DateLine: 22nd January 2005

 

A preliminary inquiry by the team management regarding an incident reported in the Australian media has established the following:

 

1. Despite the passage of a month, no formal complaint has been lodged either with the police or with the female harassment centre against any member of the team. In the absence of a formal plaint there is no legal basis to press further charges.

 

2. Legal opinion has been obtained through the Pakistan High Commission in Canberra and the team management on the uncorroborated and sensationalist reports by a small section of the Australian press and it is confirmed that legal notice will be served for any defamatory reference to the team or to individual players regarding an incident that has no basis in law. Cricket Australia have also bee informed of developments.

 

3. It is generally known that the tabloid press across the world has sometimes reported sensationalist items about visiting sports stars to undermine their morale. On other occasions the complainants seek personal publicity and notoriety by reporting such events to the press. As in the present case, such sensationalist reports have no basis in law.

 

Media Department PCB

(Article: Copyright © 2005 Pakistan Cricket Board)