LAHORE: Pakistan’s runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider will find out today if the authorities in the United Kingdom are willing to grant him asylum or not.
The Pakistani player, who deserted the national team midway through the series in Dubai last month, was summoned for a hearing with the home department in London on Friday regarding his application for asylum in the UK. “Zulqarnain will know his fate on Friday in all probability,” a report quoting a source said.
It said that the wicket-keeper had also contacted his lawyers in London and requested them to represent him at the meeting. His law firm declined to represent him since he had failed to show up for important meetings and did not bother to give return calls to them as well. It said that the authorities in the UK had also got in touch with the Pakistan Cricket Board and the UK High Commission in Pakistan regarding the wicket-keeper’s asylum application.
“They have collected details about his family background and also his claims that he and his family had been getting threatening calls in recent days after he threatened to expose corrupt people in Pakistan cricket,” the source stated.
Zulqarnain had fled the team hotel without informing the team management claiming he had got threats from people who wanted him to fix matches of the ODI series against South Africa last month in Dubai, something he claims he refused to do.
“I have always been an honest person and I don’t believe in indulging in any form of corruption in cricket that is why I have put my cricket career on the line,” he had said recently.
Home department officials in London declined to comment on Pakistan player’s application status pointing out that they were not allowed to discuss any applicant’s issue with anyone. But they confirmed that Zulqarnain’s application was under process.
