The Supreme Court, hearing an appeal from former captain Salim Malik against a life ban imposed on him for match fixing, will examine all the important documents before giving a ruling on the punishment to the batsman by the Pakistan Cricket Board.Board’s legal advisor Tafuzal Rizvi today said the court had asked Malik to submit the relevant International Cricket Council regulations/laws on match fixing at the next hearing, scheduled in the first week of March.The court’s full bench also inquired about the life bans imposed on South African captain Hansie Cronje and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin and asked the Board to submit relevant details. The Qayyum Commission’s report was also handed over to the court today.The Supreme Court full bench, headed by Chief Justice Chaudhary Ifthikhar Rasheed, had yesterday also asked the PCB to explain under which law they had imposed the ban on Malik in 2000.“We informed the court today that the ban was only imposed by the PCB on the recommendations of an inquiry commission headed by Justice (retd) Malik Qayyum,” Rizvi said.“We told them that the Qayyum Commission was constituted by the Federal government after a request made by the PCB to them to constitute a commission under the inquiry act of 1956 prevailing in the country to probe into the match-fixing allegations,” he said.Rizvi said the Board was willing to accept any decision by the apex court as it imposed the ban on the Commission’s recommendations.“The Court feels the matter is of national interest and also asked the Attorney General of Pakistan to appear in the next hearing,” Rizvi said. The Qayyum Commission had recommended the life bans on Malik and pacer Ata-ur-Rehman and fines on Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Anwar and Akram Raza after completing its inquiry in 2000.Rehman was cleared last year of the ban by both the ICC and the PCB after he appealed against it in the Court which ordered another inquiry into the matter.Malik said he was hopeful he would finally be able to prove his innocence. “I have always said I am innocent and didn’t do any match fixing. “I have been running with my appeal to every court in the country and I don’t aim to give up this fight,” said the former batsman, who played in 103 Tests and over 260 one-day internationals for Pakistan.
