A Pakistani court has ordered the police to ascertain if a criminal case can be registered against former captain Salman Butt and two other cricketers, who were found guilty of spot-fixing in London.
The additional district and sessions court in Lahore issued the order in response to an application filed by lawyer Muhammad Zubair Bulqan, who had asked the judge to direct authorities to register a case against the Pakistani cricketers involved in spot-fixing.
Bulqan said the players had tarnished Pakistan's image in the world of cricket by indulging in spot-fixing. He said the offence the players had committed was not a tolerable one for the entire country.
The petitioner said he earlier submitted an application to Islamapura police station for registering a case against the cricketers but officials had refused to act on his request. The judge, while disposing of Bulqan's petition, ordered the police station chief to act on the petitioner's application in accordance with the law and to register a case on any cognizable offences committed by the players.
The Southwark Crown Court in London handed prison sentences to Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammad Amir after finding them guilty of corruption. Butt and Asif were jailed for 30 months and one year respectively. Amir, who pleaded guilty before the trial of his two teammates, was sentenced to six months in young offenders' detention centre prison.