According to well-placed sources, only the approval of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was awaited. Insiders believe that the appointment would be notified in the coming week.

Sources said the judge would be requested to complete the investigations before the start of the cricket season in September. The sources emphasised that Justice Qayyum would not be conducting an inquiry into any individual's case. ``The Judge will ascertain if there was any truth in the match-fixing and betting allegations.

The judicial inquiry is being conducted on the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after chairman Khalid Mahmood felt that the players were not cooperating with the PCB probe committee.

``Some of the players were not cooperating and that's why the initial investigations have taken so long,'' Mahmood said adding: ``the judge appointed by the law ministry will be empowered to call any player and that player will be bound to appear before him at the given time.''

Mahmood said judicial inquiry would have the blessings of President Rafique Tarrar who is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB. ``The President agreed to the PCB request and so has the Prime Minister. It is just a matter of days when the judge is appointed and high level investigations begin,'' he said.