What‘s the story?
A sessions court in Karachi has issued a bailable arrest warrant against former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram on Tuesday. The legendary pacer was reprimanded for not appearing before the court to record his statement on a case which he himself had filed a couple of years back.
The case under sub-judice pertained to the road rage shooting incident that happened on Karachi’s Karsaz Road. Akram was said to have missed 31 hearings thus prompting the displeased Judicial Magistrate-East to set another date (January 17) for the trial as well as issuing an order to relevant law enforcement agencies to bring the complainant to court.
In case you didn’t know...
On the 5th of August in 2015, Akram filed FIR No 218/15 with officials at Bahadurabad Police Station after he claimed to have been shot at by unidentified gunmen. The cricketer was travelling in his Mercedes to a bowling camp at the famous National Stadium when the incident occurred.
He had said then, “It was just an accident when I was coming to the stadium. There is a lot of rush at this time and I was in the middle lane and a car hit my car from behind. I signaled to the other driver to come to the side, but he tried to make a fool of me and tried to race off; which irritated me a lot.“
“I got a bit frustrated and chased that car and blocked it and while I was standing and arguing with the driver, a person stepped out from the back seat holding a gun and pointed it at me. But since the traffic had stopped and people recognised me as Wasim Akram the man then lowered his gun and fired at my car which was very scary.”
The heart of the matter
The car was later found to have been registered under Major (retd) Aminur Rehman’s name with his personal bodyguard rumoured to be the one with the gun. Almost immediately, Akram demanded the authorities to revoke the arms and driver’s license of the major. The car driver was arrested by Karachi police even as the shooter continued to remain under the radar.
However, it is understood that the two parties met and resolved their differences amicably at the behest of certain influential personalities in Pakistan. That could explain why the pacer never bothered to attend the hearing.
What next?
Since it's a bailable arrest warrant, Akram will not be taken into custody as long as he agrees to attend the hearing on the 17th. The 50-year old, however, could land himself in serious trouble in case he is absent for the trial.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Road rage shooting is always a highly unfortunate one for any victim, let alone for someone who has served his country with utmost distinction. Akram not appearing before the Karachi court can be explained by several reasons. But, as for the court issuing an arrest warrant against the iconic pacer, it sends out a strong statement that no individual can be above the law.
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