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Pak judge to probe match-fixing

The Lahore high court named one of its judges to investigate allegations of betting and match-fixing against members of the Pakistan cricket team.

Chief justice Rashid Aziz said that justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum had been apppointed as the one-man inquiry commission to probe the scandal.

The commission would begin proceedings on August 24, and was expected to "complete and submit its report within two months to the federal government with its findings and recommendations", judge Aziz said.

"The commission will hold its proceedings in camera as and when it deems necessary," the chief justice said, asking people wishing to give evidence to register their names with a registrar of the commission by Saturday.

As per a notification issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports Tourism and Youth Affairs, the terms of reference for the commission will be as follows:

1) To probe into allegations regarding betting and match-fixing against the Pakistan team members.

2) To determine and identify problems, including members of the team responsible for betting and match-fixing.

3) To recommend such action as may be appropriate under the circumstances.

4) To suggest measures to avoid any future incidence.

Meanwhile, sources within the Pakistan cricket establishment indicate that the probe committee headed by Justice Ejaz Yousuf, appointed by the PCB to look into allegations of match-fixing and betting has recommended that Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik and Ijaz Ahmed should not be considered for selection for the national team.

The commission, in a preliminary report, said the suggestion was made in order to save the younger players in the team from bad influence.

The interim report, citing testimony from the likes of fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman, former managers Intikhab Alam and Haroon Rasheed, Test discard Aaqib Javed and current captain Aamer Sohail, named the three players -- and to a lesser extent, Waqar Younis -- as being suspected of involvement. It has further been recommended that a judicial probe be immediately instituted to once for all settle the issue.

All four players have been named in the provisional list of 18 for the Sahara Cup tournament. Of this list, only 14 will go to Toronto -- which means that if the interim report's recommendations are accepted, final selection becomes merely a question of dropping the four.

Interestingly, however, both Rashid Latif and Moin Khan have been named in the provisional list, the selectors making it very clear that only one wicketkeeper would make the final cut. Which would seem to indicate that Latif, now no longer a captain, will get the axe from the squad as well.

It all boils down then into a question of numbers, and of finding sufficient warm bodies to make the tour, though the board does have the option of going outside the shortlist to fill the squad.

However, the thinking within the PCB is that to take any punitive action at this stage, without cross-examining the people named in the interim report or locating other concrete evidence of their culpability, will result in needless legal battles.

The probe committee has been given three months to submit its final report.