Spot-fixing tribunal: Khalid Latif's counsel, PCB at loggerheads

LAHORE: The counsels of Pakistan Cricket Board and Khalid Latif exchanged heated words during the hearing of PSL spot-fixing tribunal on Friday.

Badar Alam – lawyer for Latif – while speaking to the press said, the tribunal mistreated his client as he is not being given a proper opportunity to present his defence on the case.

“Colonel Mohammad Azam keeps interrupting and brings a new question whenever Latif starts giving his point of view on the case,” adding, “we don’t accept the PCB court, but if proceedings are being conducted under it – one must follow the procedures.”

“The PCB counsel has even called our arguments as blackmailing - they have tried to portray us as blackmailers.”

Alam claimed that in a video presented to the tribunal, it is evident that Nasir Jamshed offered a number of times to Khalif Latif which he refused.

“Latif was taken by Sharjeel Khan we have seen that in the video,” he added.

‘PCB has ample evidence against Latif’

Later, the PCB's legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi said that contrary to the claims made by the Latif's lawyers PCB has ample evidence against Latif.

“Not only we found grips given by the bookie Yousuf in Latif's kitbag but also they were on his bats – which he had admitted". 

"Latif met the bookie twice but didn’t report it to the PCB,” he said before adding, “he didn’t disclose anything till he was questioned by PCB.”

Responding over Latif's counsel Alam's allegation that he called him a blackmailer.

Rizvi said: “In reply to the Alam's remark to boycott the tribunal, I said that this is an attempt to blackmail the tribunal. I think he wrongly thought that I called him a blackmailer.”