Shahryar Khan says he was ‘misquoted’ on Dawood Ibrahim

LONDON: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman has said that Indian media misquoted him on Dawood Ibrahim as what he said was based only on media reports and what has already been written in books. Shahryar Khan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s special envoy for improving relations with India, told Pakistani media during the launch of his book ‘Cricket Cauldron: The Turbulent Politics of Sport in Pakistan’ at Pakistan High Commission that he was talking about match-fixing and the match-fixing syndicates that operate from the Middle Eastern countries with branches mainly in India and some in Pakistan. “I was asked a question about Dawood Ibrahim and I said only what has been already reported. They (media) twisted my statement.” “Dawood (Ibrahim) was in Pakistan but I believe he was chased out of Pakistan. If he is in Pakistan, he should be hounded and arrested. We cannot allow such gangsters to operate from the country,” Shahryar Khan was quoted as saying by Indian media. The senior diplomat later on clarified his position but a lot of talk was made out of his alleged remarks. “I have never, not in the past as foreign secretary, not now, have known where Mr Ibrahim lives. I was only reflecting what the Pakistani press has been saying. I have no knowledge nor is itmy remit,” he had told an Indian TV as the controversy erupted.