Shoaib gets breather after top cleric says Shariat doesn't recognize telephonic 'nikah'

Karachi, Apr.3 (ANI): A top Pakistani cleric, Mufti Muhammad Naeem, has said that Islamic Shariat (doctrines) does not recognise 'any relationship which can not be trusted. He was referring to cricketer Shoaib Malik's alleged telephonic marriage with a Hyderabad based girl, Ayesha Siddiqui.

Naeem said that according to the Shariat, eyewitnesses's account is obligatory for the verification of 'nikah' (marriage).

"The acceptance of both bride and groom in front of eyewitnesses was necessary as per Shariat. The telephonic testimony is not trustworthy according to the Shariat and neither there is any standing about the acceptance of groom," The News quoted Naeem, as saying.

The remarks come amidst allegations from the Siddiqui family that Shoaib is already married to Ayesha, and that he has cheated her by announcing his marriage to tennis star Sania Mirza.

The controversy surrounding the star sports couple marriage has seen several twists and turns.

Meanwhile, the Siddiqui family has served a legal notice to Shoaib alleging that he had married Ayesha in 2002 and must come clean over the first marriage before tying the knot with Mirza.

The family has sent a legal notice to the Maliks on the grounds of defamation, harassment, character assassination and fraud.

The legal notice comes after Shoaib's brother-in-law Imran Zafar Malik told a private television channel that they have hired a counsel in New Delhi to take legal action against the Hyderabad based Siddiqui family.

Imran agreed that Shoaib had got engaged to Ayesha, but the Siddiqui family had shown a photograph of another girl at the time of engagement.

On Friday, the controversy took another ugly turn when the Siddiqui family came out with, what they claimed, was the marriage certificate of Shoaib and Ayesha's marriage.

Pakistani television channels flashed the 'alleged' Nikahnama (marriage certificate), which apparently contained the signatures of Shoaib on the column for the groom and the name of Maha Siddiqui on the column for the bride.

"I have released this marriage certificate because Shoaib and his family have constantly been denying this marriage," Ayesha told one Pakistani television channel over the telephone from Hyderabad.(ANI)