Will eat grass but will raise budget of Pakistan Army, says Shoaib Akhtar

KARACHI: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar once again has spoken about things outside of cricket and this time he had something to say about the budget of the Pakistan Army.

He feels that the annual budget of the armed forces should be increased significantly and for that civilian like him are even ready to make the necessary sacrifices. Akhtar also urged the chief of armed forces to work together with the civilians.

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," Akhtar said in an interview with ARY News.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," he added.

This isn't the first time when Akhtar has said something with respect to the armed forces. Earlier, the speedster claimed that he had turned down a 175,000-pound county contract with Nottinghamshire to fight the 1999 war against India in Kargil.

"People hardly know about this story. I had a 175,000-pound contract with Nottingham. Then in 2002, I had another big contract. I left both when Kargil happened," Akhtar said.

"I stood on the outskirts of Lahore. A general asked me what I'm doing there. I said war is about to start and we'll die together.

"I left county (cricket) twice like this and the counties were shocked. I wasn't concerned about that. I called up my friends in Kashmir and told them I am ready to fight," he added. IANS 

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