Cricket inquiry commission summons Saqlain Mushtaq (27 November 1998)

27 November 1998

Cricket inquiry commission summons Saqlain Mushtaq

AFP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 27 (AFP) - A judicial commission probing match-fixing allegations in Pakistani cricket has summoned spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and five other people to appear before it, officials said Friday.

The commission is due to meet in Lahore on Saturday to complete the investigations it launched in September.

Saqlain has also been served notice to explain why he did not respond to an earlier summons by the commission, the Pakistan Cricket Board's legal adviser Ali Sajjad told AFP.

Others summoned include current Test player Azhar Mahmood, former internationals Zahid Fazal and Asif Mujtaba, Lahore-based journalist Shahid Sheikh and video shop owner Nayyer Ahmed.

Saqlain has been accused of throwing a one-day match against India in September 1997 by conceding 17 runs to tail-enders.

"I am unaware of any notice or summons but if I am called I will definitely go," said Saqlain, who was dropped from Pakistan's line-up in the first Test against Zimbabwe being played here.

The commission, meanwhile, fixed Saturday as the last day for Pakistani cricketers to declare their assets.

To date, only Test stars Ejaz Ahmed and Mushtaq Ahmed, both playing in the Zimbabwe Test, have submitted details of their assets to the commission, sources said.

Paceman Waqar Younis has asked the cricket board for more time as he is too busy playing in the Test against Zimbabwe, they said.

Some 16 current and former players were ordered by the commission earlier this month to submit asset declarations.

Allegations of match-fixing and betting scams have been haunting Pakistani cricket for nearly four years, since Australians Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh accused Salim Malik of offering them bribes to perform poorly during the 1994-95 tour of Pakistan.

Source :: AFP