LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday summoned seven national cricket players, the sports minister and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman to face treason charges over fixing allegations in England.
The chief justice of the high court said that those under investigation in England, the sports minister Ijaz Jakharani and PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt must appear on September 7.
Petitioner Ishtiaq Ahmed filed the treason case on Monday, calling for life bans and confiscation of all the players' assets if they are found guilty. He requested to initiate proceedings against the players on charges of high treason under Article 6 of the constitution.
The cricketers are alleged to have been paid to bowl no-balls at pre-determined times in a spot-fixing scam in the fourth Test against England, which Pakistan lost by an innings on Sunday.
"The case is based only on allegations. We do not expect a hurried decision," Azhar Siddique, a local lawyer said.
The seven national team players include Test team captain Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir, plus three unnamed players. The police have bailed the bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, who is alleged to be the middleman in the scam.
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