The problems are not stopping anytime soon for the star Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam as there is an update on an alleged sexual harassment case against him. Lahore High Court has recently postponed the date of the hearing till December 16.
The decision by the court was announced on December 12 (Thursday). Hamiza Mukhtar, the petitioner in the case, has alleged that Babar Azam refused to marry her after promising to do so. The petitioner has also claimed Babar to be dating her.
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The date for Babar Azam’s sexual harassment case has been pushed back
Babar Azam’s junior attorney had asked the court to delay the date of the hearing as his senior attorney, Barrister Haris Azmat, didn’t appear in the court. The court, in return, granted the request.
While the case is going on in Pakistan, Babar is currently involved in the T20I series in South Africa. He will also play the subsequent ODI and the Test series after the ongoing T20Is.
What did the petitioner claim?
The case has been going on since year 2021 as the petitioner Hamiza Mukhtar filed a case against Babar Azam that he sexually assaulted her when the two of them were in a relationship. She alleged that Babar had promised to marry her but exploited her sexually in return.
It even led to her abortion which was persuaded by Babar, according to her. She also alleged that Babar didn’t stand by his promise to marry her once he became successful in his cricket career. The woman restated all these claims in front of the court.
“Babar Azam sexually exploited me, making me pregnant. He later persuaded me to abort the child, which she did,” the petitioner stated.
Hamiza Mukhtar also added her medical records along with the petition to boost her claims. She also claimed that the police had declined to file a formal complaint against Babar despite complaining of “blackmail and fornication”.
Babar Azam’s recent batting form
Babar hasn’t been in great form with the bat recently. He is currently playing in the T20I series against South Africa where he was dismissed for a duck in the first match. The former Pakistan captain has been named in Pakistan’s squad for all the formats in this tour.
His poor form with the bat led to him being dropped from Pakistan’s Test team midway through the series against England. He was dropped after the first Test of the series. It was a big decision by the selectors to drop a player of Babar’s stature.
However, the selectors decided to pick him in Pakistan’s Test team in South Africa. It remains to be seen whether he gets a game straight away or not. He will be tested against a world-class South Africa bowling attack in testing conditions.
Babar has been going through tough times recently. The star Pakistan batter had to quit white-ball captaincy due to the team’s repeated poor performances before the tour to Australia. Mohammad Rizwan is currently Pakistan’s white-ball skipper.