ACSU gets in touch with Zulqarnain Haider

The ICC's investigative arm, the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has finally spoken with Zulqarnain Haider, who rushed to the UK having received threats after the fourth one-dayer of the five-match series in UAE. "He just told the ACSU what he told Geo TV (a leading Pakistan television channel). It is just about the same," a source close to the case said. It is understood that the ACSU officers spoke to Haider at length over telephone from the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Tuesday night.

Haider had fled to the UK to seek protection and has been staying in a London hotel. Throughout Monday Haider spoke to Geo, revealing vital bits of information which led him to take the eventual decision to board the flight from Dubai early morning on Monday. A day later he announced his retirement. Thoroughly annoyed with the player's stance, the PCB suspended Haider's stipend contract today and appointed a three-member fact-finding committee to probe into the matter.

Asked if the ACSU would be carrying out its own investigation, the source said the ICC's watchdog would like to wait for the PCB to finish its probe first. The source also revealed that based on the information shared by Haider, it was difficult for the ACSU to establish exactly who had issued the threats. "The ICC has no responsibility in this. There is nothing the ACSU can do because they can't identify the person he says threatened him. Neither can the police do anything," he said.

On Tuesday, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat had said that Haider had erred in not alerting the ACSU as soon as he got the threats. "I don't think it was wise of him to have done what he did, because it doesn't solve the problems for him as well and the right thing would have been to speak to the ACSU." But Lorgat added that the ICC would lend the helping hand to PCB in its probe.