KARACHI: A draft bill sent by the Pakistan Cricket Board to the government, which seeks to criminalize any acts of corruption in cricket, is yet to be enacted as a law despite a delay of several months. The draft bill was sent by the PCB to the law ministry for approval but it is yet to be passed by the upper and lower houses of the Parliament and enforced as a law.
A member of the National Assembly, Iqbal Mohammad Ali, had also tabled a similar bill in the some months ago but he says it is now with the Law and Justice Committee, which will send it to the Parliament for approval.
The PCB draft of 77 pages titled 'Legislation on the prevention of corruption in sports' seeks to criminalize corruption in cricket. The PCB has given references of bills recently passed in Sri Lanka and New Zealand to criminalize corruption in cricket. "The draft bill now criminalizes several offences related to match-fixing among other things," one board official said.
He said the draft is being vetted and will be cleared by the law ministry after which it can be tabled in the Parliament. The PCB has also recommended setting up a special unit to investigate claims related to corruption in the draft bill.
Offences related to corruption in sports will carry a prison term of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs. 100 million or both together.