Islamabad - The Pakistan government has barred the five
cricketers involved in alleged spot-fixing from leaving the country.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has provisionally suspended
Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed
from playing any form of cricket for violating anti-corruption code during the
recent Pakistan Super League.
Jamshed is still in Britain, where he was first arrested as
part of investigation into alleged corruption in the PSL.
The interior ministry said in a statement that Irfan and
Latif recorded their statements to officials of Federal Investigation Authority
in Lahore on Monday. Hasan and Sharjeel are scheduled to record their
statements to FIA officials on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed FIA officials to carry out a thorough investigation against the five players.
Khan
said there should be a zero tolerance policy and anybody who is involved in
spot-fixing should not be spared.
The PCB has formed a separate three-member tribunal which
includes a retired judge and a retired general to conduct its own inquiry
against Sharjeel and Latif.
Last week, the cricket board provisionally suspended Irfan and
Shahzaib and gave them two weeks to respond to the charges.
Last month, Sharjeel and Latif were sent back home from the
United Arab Emirates for alleged spot-fixing during the PSL's opening match.
The PCB's anti-corruption unit questioned Irfan and Hasan during the PSL, but they were allowed to compete in the tournament. Both were provisionally suspended after they recorded their statements to the PCB's ACU officials in Lahore last week.