Govt seeks to be part of investigation

ISLAMABAD: The spot-fixing scandal allegedly involving Pakistan’s cricketers continued to create waves on Monday, with the government scrambling to get involved in the matter. With a three-member team from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) preparing to fly out to London, Pakistan has officially asked Scotland Yard to allow it to be part of the investigations into the scandal.

“Scotland Yard has been requested to make Pakistan a part of the investigation process,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told The Express Tribune.

The request has been made through the Pakistan High Commission in London, the spokesman said. “We are  waiting for their (Scotland Yard) response,” he added.

The government had already announced that it would send a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team to London to examine the allegations that some Pakistani cricketers were involved in spot-fixing. The team, which will be headed by by FIA director Altaf Hussain, who will be accompanied by Inam Ghani and Inspector Tahir, have applied for UK visas, and will proceed to London as soon as their documents come through.

Officials said the FIA team will study claims that Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Asif deliberately bowled no-balls during the final Test against England at Lord’s.

Govt concedes loopholes in system

The government on Tuesday told a parliamentary panel that loopholes in the legal system and its implementation mechanism provide people involved in heinous crimes like gang rape and child molestation a chance to escape punishment.

Federal Secretary Human Rights Ministry Justice (Retd) Riaz Kayani said that criminals take advantage of “weaknesses” in the legal system to get away even in cases of heinous crimes.

At a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights here, Kayani, however, did not mention whether the government was making any attempt to remove such contradictions from the legal system.