PCB chairman greeted by angry crowd

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt stressed that British police had yet to charge any of the three players accused of spot-fixing and said there was ‘zero tolerance’ against corruption.

The under-pressure chairman returned home to protests and calls for his resignation over the claims, which refuse to go away.

“The investigations are under way and police has yet to charge any player,” said Ijaz. “The police interrogated our players for nine hours last Friday, but there have been no charges levelled against them. Without any proof, there is no point in labelling anyone as guilty. No action can be or will be taken until the accusations are proven.”

The chairman confirmed that Scotland Yard had warrants to search the hotel rooms of the accused players and that despite nine hours of interrogation, no charges were levied against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif or Mohammad Amir.

“We are very concerned over the allegations and since we too have zero tolerance against corruption, we also want this to finish soon. We are really worried about the matter and if any player is found responsible then we will take strict action. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has their own code of conduct and they will carry out their own internal inquiry which is the reason why our players have been suspended.

“We hope it will end soon but legal matters can take long and the ICC wants a reply from the accused trio and not us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2010.