Karan114 Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Mohammad Asif considers asylum in Britain Mohammad Asif, one of the cricketers at the centre of the fixing scandal, is considering making a claim for political asylum in Britain to avoid returning to a potentially violent backlash in Pakistan. By Rob Crilly in Islamabad and Richard Edwards in London Published: 10:00PM BST 08 Sep 2010 The Pakistan bowler held a 35-minute meeting with an immigration lawyer last Friday, The Daily Telegraph has learnt, and said he feared the allegations of fixing certain events in a recent Test match against England could make him the target of dangerous criminal gangs linked to the illegal betting underworld. The cricketer is said to have asked the lawyer what would be a way to stay in Britain. He went on to discuss the asylum process with the solicitor, from London firm Malik and Malik. The news will cause consternation among cricket authorities, who are engulfed in one of the worst crises the sport has faced. It will also be met with anger in Pakistan, where the players have been pilloried by the public and media. Asif suggested he would await the results of investigations by Scotland Yard and the International Cricket Council, to which he expressed his innocence, before taking the asylum claim further. The criminal charges carry a potential jail term and the ICC could ban him for life from the sport. Immigration experts said Asif could present a viable case if he were able to prove his life was in danger and that the Pakistan authorities were unable or unwilling to protect him. The 27-year-old fast bowler asked an intermediary to arrange a meeting with the lawyer in London last week, and the meeting apparently took place in a Pakistani restaurant in Southall, west London, on Friday. “He didn’t say anything about asylum at first,†said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He just said, 'what’s the way to stay?’ Then we told him there’s the student way – you can come here to study – or you can apply for a work permit. But then he asked about asylum.†Asif was said to have looked “very anxious†and was accompanied by an unidentified older man. “I think he’s just worried about the backlash at home – that’s what he told me,†the solicitor said. “There’s been a lot of talk and there are undercover betting mafias with a lot of power – that seemed to be what he was worried about.†At one stage the meeting was interrupted by a fan asking Asif for an autograph. The cricketer left with a copy of an advice leaflet setting out British immigration law. “If he wants to go forward then we will see what we can do for him,†the solicitor said. It is rare for Pakistanis to be granted asylum. In 2009, only 65 were given shelter in Britain, Home Office figures show. One leading immigration lawyer, who did not wish to be named, said Asif could apply for refugee status if he first proved “a well-founded fear of being persecuted†by a gang who were out to cause him harm. He would then have to argue that the Pakistan state would not protect him. Asif, Mohammed Amir and Salman Butt were all questioned under caution by Metropolitan Police detectives earlier this week over text messages, phone calls and secret bank accounts linked to the alleged fixing of certain events in the match against England. Amir is alleged to have deliberately bowled a no-ball in the Fourth Test at Lord’s on the orders of Mazhar Majeed, an agent and businessman. It has emerged that Asif comes from a poor family but has four homes, including an Italianate mansion in Lahore. He has been dogged by doping controversies since testing positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone in 2006, and remains barred from travelling to the United Arab Emirates after he was deported from the country in 2008 for possessing drugs. The reaction to the fixing allegations in Pakistan has been acute, with cricket fans pelting donkeys daubed with the players’ names. In a court in Lahore, a local lawyer filed a case of treason against the accused players, calling for life bans and confiscation of all the players’ assets if they were found guilty. The Pakistan High Commission refused to comment and the manager of the Pakistan team said he was not aware of Asif seeking asylum. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7990174/Pakistan-cricketer-Mohammad-Asif-considers-asylum-in-Britain.html Link to comment
Serani Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Next stop Bradford for Asif :giggle: Link to comment
Rajiv Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Vow, there are Srilankans coming to Canada via boats and claiming refugee status, and here we have a no-baller cheat filling a similar form Link to comment
Clarke Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 when does he qualify for the commonwealth XI Link to comment
nballa Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 i think they should give it to him, provided they have enough room in their mental asylums which always manage to overflow with the influx of fresh, talented uk pakis. Link to comment
Desi Cartman Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Great lawyer ! a client discusses his case with him and he goes to the press and discloses everything Link to comment
jf1gp_1 Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 now listen up pcb, pak fans there is your proof Link to comment
Roshanrocks Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 within 2 years Asif will be playing for engerland :D Link to comment
Clarke Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 On what grounds can there be a backlash ? Going by previous event(s) (Afretard), he shall be appointed as captain of test team. Link to comment
DomainK Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 within 2 years Asif will be playing for engerland :D :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: Link to comment
Manny_Pacquiao Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 within 2 years Asif will be playing for engerland :D within 2 years, he will be doing what all the other paki bruvs in da UK do - living on the dole, driving taxi/working in a shady paki run 'indian restaurant'/sitting in a cornershop selling the NOTW and other papers. then once his shift ends, he will go browse fark passion.net, come up with various conspriacy theories with his chav paki chums before eventually becoming a moderator with 10,000 runs Link to comment
Rajiv Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 ^^ U should be bollywood writer..it has everything Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Phoreign Location Link to comment
Desi Cartman Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 ^^ U should be bollywood writer..it has everything Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Phoreign Location More like Dev D if one was to believe Veena malik :giggle: Link to comment
bharathh Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 ^^ U should be bollywood writer..it has everything Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Phoreign Location This movie would be a fail in India. Where are the dream sequences and item songs? Link to comment
Hindustani Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Next stop Bradford for Asif :giggle: :--D Link to comment
Rajan Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 can u check whether he is seeking admission in a 'mental asylum' in UK?he has more chance of getting it through... Link to comment
Roshanrocks Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 i read the title again and for a moment thought about a "mental" aslyum Link to comment
Roshanrocks Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 can u check whether he is seeking admission in a 'mental asylum' in UK?he has more chance of getting it through... wow, 2 peepal thinking about the same thing almost simultaneously Link to comment
King Tendulkar Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 within 2 years' date=' he will be doing what all the other paki bruvs in da UK do - living on the dole, driving taxi/working in a shady paki run 'indian restaurant'/sitting in a cornershop selling the NOTW and other papers. then once his shift ends, he will go browse fark passion.net, come up with various conspriacy theories with his chav paki chums before eventually becoming a moderator with 10,000 runs[/quote'] :--D Link to comment
EnterTheVoid Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 If his life is at risk, than can't blame him. Link to comment
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