Pak Parliament committee summons players, PCB officials over match fixing scandal

Islamabad, May 21 (ANI): The latest match fixing scandal surrounding some Pakistani cricketers has now attracted the attention of the country's political leadership as well, with the Parliament's Standing Committee on Sports summoning Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt , former team officials and captain Younis Khan for a meeting on May 25.

Committee chairman Iqbal Mohammed Ali said Butt, along with the PCB's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari, team manager Yawar Saeed and former chief selector Iqbal Qasim have been asked to appear before the parliamentary committee to discuss the match-fixing issue.

While expressing strong reservations over the inquiry commission, which was set up by the PCB to probe the reasons behind Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia, Ali said the way the board has handled certain issues in the recent past was also questionable.

"We will even propose a committee of retired judges to investigate how does the PCB work. It (PCB inquiry committee) was not a neutral committee and that's the main reason that now we will propose a committee of retired judges," The News quoted Ali, as saying.

"After the leakage of this video, I am very confident that President (Asif Ali Zardar, who is PCB's chief patron) will also take a serious notice and streamline the affairs of PCB," he said while referring to the leaked video tape of one of the hearings of the inquiry commission, which showed former team officials and players pointing fingers towards other players for their alleged role in match fixing.

Earlier, T20 skipper Shahid Afridi called for a quick and 'decisive' action by the concerned authorities in the match fixing controversy.

Afridi said the controversy is damaging for players keeping in view that they have to compete in some important tournaments in the coming months, including the 2011 World Cup.

"The thing is that there is too much uncertainty because of all those allegations regarding match-fixing. It's really damaging for the players and the team and I'm really concerned because it comes at a time when we are looking forward to a very busy calendar filled with major assignments, including the all-important World Cup," he said. (ANI)