Ijaz Ahmed pleads innocence in forgery case

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Test batsman Ijaz Ahmed said he was innocent on Friday and vowed to defend himself in court after his arrest for allegedly giving false cheques to a client.

Ijaz was due to appear in court in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Friday but was taken to hospital after his health deteriorated.

"I have not done anything wrong," Ijaz told AFP. "The police have mistreated me and I am in hospital after an attack of asthma. I will defend myself in the court once my condition gets stable."

The 40-year-old Ijaz coaches students on fielding at the National Cricket Academy run by the Pakistan Cricket Board in Lahore and also has a private business. "I vomited blood and experienced difficulty in breathing, so doctors put me on artificial respiratory system for sometime. It has been very frustrating because I have not done anything wrong."

"These clients owe me money and instead they made a false case against me," he added.

A Lahore police official said Ijaz was arrested on Thursday.

"This is a land scam case under which Ijaz was on bail. His bail expired on Thursday and we arrested him on charges of giving false cheques to a business party," senior police official Rana Abdul Jabbar said. Cheques worth 10.05 million rupees were involved.

Ijaz played 60 Tests and 250 ODIs between 1987 and 2001, and was a member of Pakistan's World Cup-winning team in 1992.

He stressed he had never been involved in any crime and said he had been cleared of any wrongdoing in a match-fixing inquiry from 1998-2000.

The judicial inquiry saw his brother-in-law Salim Malik, a former Pakistan captain, banned for life.