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Lahore, Sept 11: Inquiry Commission probing the betting and match-fixing charges against cricketers completed its hearings on Saturday. The one-man Inquiry Commission comprises Justice Malik Muhammad Qayyum of the Lahore High Court.

After the hearing, in which only Test paceman Ata-ur-Rahman appeared on Saturday, the learned judge said that he would be finalising the report of inquiry within three or four days. That would be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Sports for onward submission to the President of Pakistan Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

None of the other four Test cricketers namely, Rashid Latif, Basit Ali, Sarfaraz Nawaz and Majid Khan (also the former PCB chief executive), who had been summoned to appear on Saturday, could appear before the Inquiry Commission.

Replying to a question, High Court registrar Abdul Salam Khawar said that Majid Khan had informed that since he was out of station, so he could not appear. Mr Khawar said that the commission had not been officially informed about Test cricketer Basit Ali. However, a news had appeared in an English daily that Basit was convalescing at Karachi after his knee operation. Basit Ali was one of the accusers and advocates of some Test cricketers wanted to cross-examine him just as they wanted to cross-examine Majid Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz and Rashid Latif.

About Sarfaraz Nawaz, the registrar said that he had applied to the Inquiry Commission that he should be given a month's time to engage an advocate and prepare for appearance at some later date.

Abdul Salam Khawar said that Rashid Latif had applied to the Inquiry Commission to give him a few weeks' time to engage an advocate and also supply the copies of statements of Salim Malik, Salim Pervaiz and Ata-ur-Rahman as he wanted to cross-examine them. The learned judge ruled that Rashid Latif could not ask to be supplied the statement of Ata-ur- Rahman because no witness could cross-examine another witness. The learned judge said that he was winding up the hearings.

Replying to questions from a large number of mediamen present in the High Court, the learned judge said that separate summons would be issued to Ata-ur-Rahman.

In all, 60 persons had been summoned to appear before the Inquiry Commission which continued for over a year. Those included former and present Test cricketers, Pakistan Cricket Board officials, administrators, journalists the alleged bookmakers and gamblers. The inquiry had started on Sept 8, 1998 and has beenwound up on Sept 11, 1999.

Former Test captain Asif Iqbal did not appear before the commission despite being summoned. Former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) Air Marshal (retd.) Malik Nur Khan was not summoned but he voluntarily gave an oral statement before the commission in camera.

Some of the persons summoned gave oral and some written statements. Some appeared in the High Court and some others preferred to appear in camera in the chamber of the learned judge. The Test cricketers included both the accusers and the accused.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Lahore had submitted a report about some persons, who according to the statement, were gamblers but their connection with any of the Test cricketers had not been established.

The main accusers were cricketers Rashid Latif, Basit Ali, Aamir Sohail, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Ata-ur-Rahman, Javed Miandad, Intikhab Alam, Salim Pervaiz, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Tim May and an alleged bookie Younis. From among the PCB officials former chairman Khalid Mahmood and Majid Khan also deposed before the Inquiry Commission.

An abridged version of the Ehtesab Bureau report had also been submitted with the Inquiry Commission. The learned judge has already examined many sealed files which include that report as well. A major portion of the report on findings of the Inquiry Commission has almost been completed. It may be finalized within a few days.