In meeting at Fawad Chaudhry’s house, truce reached between Shoaib Akhtar, Nauman Niaz
Dr Niaz admits what transpired on his live show should not have occurred; says their 30-year-old friendship should not end
November 13, 2021
ISLAMABAD: A truce has been reached between former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and PTV Sports anchor Dr Nauman Niaz, during a meeting at the residence of Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry.
The “insult” of Akhtar on the state-owned TV channel last month had sparked anger among cricket fans. The TV host had told the cricket star to leave his show in the presence of cricket legends like Sir Viv Richards and David Gower.
A meeting was arranged between Akhtar and Dr Niaz at the residence of Chaudhry during which differences between the two sides were settled.
Apologising to Akhtar, Dr Niaz admitted that what had transpired on the live show should not have occurred. He said that their 30-year-old friendship should not end.
Senior Geo News anchor and political analyst Saleem Safi had taken Akhtar to Chaudhry's home, whereas Dr Niaz had been called over to the residence by the information minister himself.
Sharing a photo of himself on Twitter along with Akhtar and Dr Niaz, Chaudhry wrote: “All is well that ends well.”
'Let's move on'
Tweeting after the meeting, Akhtar said that it was an "unpleasant incident" that unfolded on national television, one that hurt his sentiments, which is why it took him a while to come around.
"Taking a higher moral ground, I am accepting the apology of Dr Nauman Niaz. Let's move on from this," he said.
Speaking to Geo News, Akhtar said that he had "no personal enmity or problem" with Dr Niaz. "I asked Nauman Niaz to apologise to the nation for his behaviour," said the former bowler.
"I had forgiven Nauman Niaz on the night of the incident," he added.
Akhtar noted that Dr Niaz has now apologised both to him and the nation.
The former cricketer disclosed that Chaudhry has asked the PTV managing director that a defamation notice sent to him by the state-run television channel be withdrawn.
"Fawad Chaudhry sahab has said that all these things should be done away with and the letter should be withdrawn," he said.
"Everything is settled; there is no problem from my side," he added.
The former pacer said that whatever Dr Niaz said was "wrong". "He has apologised but had he done so earlier, things would not have taken such a bad turn. A little late but it's all good now," he said.
Akhtar said that the meeting took place in a very cordial atmosphere and recognised that Safi and Chaudhry had played an important role in resolving the matter.
PTV Sports anchor Dr Nauman Niaz apologises to Shoaib Akhtar
On November 5, after strong backlash from Pakistanis, Dr Niaz finally apologised to Akhtar for the verbal altercation.
Amid a call to sack Dr Niaz, an inquiry was conducted after which he was taken off air by the PTV management.
In a statement on Rauf Klasra's YouTube channel, the anchor said that the reaction to what he did on air was justified and “I apologise thousands of times over my conduct”.
“Whatever the reason, I had no right to do all this on-air, it was my fault. Shoaib Akhtar is a star and I love his cricket,” Dr Niaz said.
