Match-fixing: Arrest warrant against ex-Pak captain Latif

LAHORE, JAN 2: A judge issued bailable arrest warrants against former Pakistani captain Rashid Latif and batsman Salim Pervaiz today after they failed to appear on Thursday before Justice Malik Abdul Qayyum tribunal probing match-fixing charges against top cricketers, court officials said.The judicial inquiry is investigating betting and match-fixing allegations against five senior Pakistani cricketers, including Malik and former captain Wasim Akram. Latif and Pervaiz are considered key witnesses in the case.The next hearing is set for January 16 and the tribunal will submit its report to President Rafiq Tarar on January 31.

Also today, the five players accused of match fixing Akram, Malik, Ijaz Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed received a list of the charges against them from the court. They will be cross-examined in the next hearing.The court officials said Malik, who has been allowed to question Australian accusers Shane Warne and Mark Waugh in Melbourne next week, has nominated lawyer Azmat Baigto cross-question them. The Pakistani judicial commission is sending three people to Australia on January 5 to record the statements of Waugh and Warne for the January 8 hearing in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board PCB chief executive Majid Khan believes the team8217;s prospects are tied to a judicial inquiry into match-fixing and bribery in Pakistani cricket. The inquiry has been conducted against a background of losing performances, with Australia winning a Test series in Pakistan for the first time in 39 years and then Zimbabwe winning a Test series away for the first time since becoming a Test-playing team in 1992.