Jailed Salman Butt's baby refused British visa

Butt's father Zulfiqar says visa refusal halted their visit, considering appealing on humanitarian grounds.

LAHORE: Britain has denied the baby son of Pakistan's jailed former captain Salman Butt a visa, crushing the family's hopes of visiting him behind bars, his father said Tuesday.

Butt and two of his other team mates, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, were sentenced by a British court last November for spot fixing during the 2010 Lord's Test against England.

Butt was sentenced for 30 months and Asif for 12 months. Amir served half his six-month suspended sentence and was released last month.

Butt's father Zulfiqar said his daughter-in-law Gul “wanted to take both her sons to meet their father but the youngest son Ayan was refused a visa by the British High Commission for a second time”.

Ayan was born just minutes after Butt was sentenced on November 3 last year and he has never seen his father.

Zulfiqar said the mother and the elder son had valid visas.

“The refusal of a visa for the younger son has halted their visit and we are considering appealing on humanitarian grounds,” Zulfiqar told AFP.

The British High Commission in Islamabad said it could not comment on individual visa applications.