Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

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I wish the judge had fined the petitioner for wasting court’s time and trying to gain cheap publicity.

Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - A Pakistani court rejected a case against former cricket great Wasim Akram that he hurt religious sentiments by modeling in an Indian liquor advertisement, court officials said.

Judge Musheer Rao dismissed the case and ruled that “the petitioner had no right to file such a case as he was not directly at a loss,” they said on Tuesday.

The private petition, filed by Mohammad Fayyaz, demanded a public apology from Akram and payment of damages amounting to 25,000 rupees (about 400 US dollars) for allegedly posing in an Indian liquor company advertisement.

The 37-year-old Akram retired in May last year after taking 414 Test and a world record 502 one-day wickets.

He along with seven international players modelled for the Indian company Royal Stag but his lawyer Chaudhry Fawwad said Akram modelled for the company’s cricket equipment and not liquor.

Indias Harbhajan Singh, Australias Glen McGrath, Jonty Rhodes of South Africa, Mervyn Dillon of the West Indies, Stephen Fleming of New Zealand, Marvan Atapattu of Sri Lanka and Andy Flower of Zimbabwe had also modelled for the company.

The court also dropped another case against Akram for coaching Indian bowlers last year but a case of allegedly stealing a jeep is still pending against the renowned bowler in a court in Karachi.

“Such frivolous petitions are designed to seek publicity,” Fawwad remarked.

Commenting on the dismissal of the liquor ad case, the petitioner’s lawyer Ansar Mahmood Bajwa said his purpose had been achieved.

“Indian journalists and people who came to Pakistan for a cricket series two months ago told us that after our case the advertisement was stopped so our purpose was served,” Bajwa said.

Since retiring, Akram has switched to cricket commentary for a Hong Kong based television network and recently turned down an Indian film offer saying he wants to remain involved in a cricket related job.

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Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ehsan: *
I wish the judge had fined the petitioner for wasting court's time and trying to gain cheap publicity.

[/QUOTE]

same here. what's the problem if he wants to model for a liquor ad? he's a free person with a free will.

this petitioner dude needs to be sued for being an idiot.

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Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

:rotfl: why do I find this so funny ?

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Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ehsan: *
...
He along with seven international players modelled for the Indian company Royal Stag but his lawyer Chaudhry Fawwad said Akram modelled for the company's cricket equipment and not liquor.
...

[/QUOTE]

This is not accurate. I saw the add myself and it was for liquor. One side it had Glen MacGrath with accuracy or consistency or something of that sort written under it and the other had Wasim Akram with smoothness associated with him. Can’t remember the exact qualities associated to the two but the add was for liquor and it appeared in India Today. Saw it with my own eyes. I might be able to look up the mag itself. Its been over an year now since it appeared.

Makes me wonder what was this guy's lawyer doing? Did they not have a copy of the mag? If they did how did the judge make such a decision?

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Re: Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by the_paindoo: *

This is not accurate. I saw the add myself and it was for liquor. One side it had Glen MacGrath with accuracy or consistency or something of that sort written under it and the other had Wasim Akram with smoothness associated with him. Can’t remember the exact qualities associated to the two but the add was for liquor and it appeared in India Today. Saw it with my own eyes. I might be able to look up the mag itself. Its been over an year now since it appeared.

Makes me wonder what was this guy's lawyer doing? Did they not have a copy of the mag? If they did how did the judge make such a decision?
[/QUOTE]

Paindoo bhai....
Both you and Ehsan are correct. Here is how it works in India.

In India cigarette and liquor advertisment in media are banned.so what these comapnys do is that they have a phoney business of something else. Like Royal Stag has cricketing gear ,Wills has Some Wills World Record book etc etc.These business are just eyewash because we all know what brand name Wills or Royal Stag stands for. So when they sign cricketer to advertise for those phoney line of business and that is what is aired on TV or inprint media.

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Re: Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by the_paindoo: *
Makes me wonder what was this guy's lawyer doing? Did they not have a copy of the mag? If they did how did the judge make such a decision?
[/QUOTE]
paindoo bhai saheb,

The judge kicked out the law suit saying ""the petitioner had no right to file such a case as he was not directly at a loss," So even if it was a liquor ad, doesn't make any difference to the outcome. Akram's lawyer is just playing the media game by spinning.

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Re: Re: Re: Pakistani court rejects liquor ad complaint against Wasim Akram

oops :smack2: Thank you Fasil bhai saheb for pointing it out.