NA body threatens to resign en masse if PCB boss Butt does not quit within '24 hours'

Islamabad, Oct 12 (ANI): Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports have threatened to resign en masse, if Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt does not step down within 24 hours.

"Ijaz Butt has caused huge damage to the game of cricket in the country and is also inviting more embarrassment with his irrational actions," The News quoted Iqbal Muhammad Ali, the chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee, as saying.

"We are meeting tomorrow to decide on the course of action," he said, adding that the "members would not hesitate to resign, if Ijaz Butt did not step down in next 24 hours."

He revealed that the committee would also approach President Asif Ali Zardari, who is the patron-in-chief of the PCB, and ask him to sack Butt from the board's chairmanship.

As the members of the Standing Committee have announced their resignation from the committee if Butt did not quit, tomorrow's meeting will be a very important meeting for the parliamentarians.

The House will discuss the spot-fixing scandal, as the committee has summoned top officials of the board, including Butt, for what is expected to be a grilling session.

However, Butt would not attend the Standing Committee meeting, as he is presently in Dubai to take part in the ICC Executive Board meeting, scheduled on October 12 and 13.

Meanwhile, former Chief Selector Salahud Din Sallu has said that the NA body could only threaten to resign, adding that he did not think the body would actually resign.

The recent disastrous performances by the national team and the stance of the PCB on important issues, including the spot-fixing allegations, have led to calls for Butt's ouster getting louder by the day. Butt had also accused the English players of match-fixing, but later retracted his statement and offered an unconditional apology to them. (ANI)