LAHORE – A sessions court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for former cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz after he failed to appear before the court in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi.
Mr. Sethi, in his complaint, had alleged that Sarfraz “levelled false and baseless charges against him due to which his popularity suffered a decline”.
I sued Sarfraz Nawaz three years ago for defamation. The court put a gag order on him. Two days ago, the court issued his arrest warrants for contempt of court by continuing to spread lies about me.
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) March 28, 2018
Maintaining that he had “not for a single day used his position for wrongful purposes,” the incumbent PCB chairman requested the court to order the accused to pay damages worth Rs100 million.
Lahore’s Sessions judge Anjum Mumtaz Malik, who was hearing the case, ordered Sarfraz to appear before the court at all costs and adjourned the hearing for two weeks, the DAWN reported.
In February last year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had warned both print and electronic media not to give space to the former Test fast bowler, underlining any move to do so maybe tantamount to a contempt of court.
