Petition to probe "fixed" Indo-Pak match

A petition filed in a Pakistani court today alleged that the India-Pakistan semi-final of the cricket World Cup was "fixed in favour of India" and sought a probe by the Federal Investigation Agency and National Accountability Bureau.

The petition filed in the Lahore High Court by Muhammad Irfan Mukhtar also alleged that the "cricket diplomacy" by the two countries during the match was a "conspiracy" hatched prepared by bookmakers to cover their crime.

The petition filed by Mukhtar's lawyer Muhammad Azhar Siddique named the Interior and Information Ministers, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, cricket team captain Shahid Afridi, players Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal and Karman Akman and Pakistan's envoys to to Britain, India and the UAE as parties to the matter.

The Pakistani side was defeated by the India in the semi-final that was watched by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

The petitioner alleged: "The way the Pakistan team surrendered the match to India is obvious that the match was fixed and for the realising of which, even cricket diplomacy was initiated under a deep-rooted conspiracy wherein the role of two Pakistani ministers may also not been ruled out."

Mukhtar contended Pakistan was "deeply hurt" by the defeat of the national team and a probe should be conducted by the FIA, NAB, Federal Board of Revenue and State Bank of Pakistan to ascertain who was in contact with the players and details of their bank accounts.