British tab which "broke" the spot-fixing outrage,
periled to appear on a lot of contingents.These was pointed by the News of the
World when it was adjoined by The Independent newspaper, without
expanding. The Pakistan High
Commissioner to Britain
fought the clouded trio and told they will get full support to clear their
names.
The Pakistani envoy Wajid S Hasan told CNN today that it's
possible the players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir -- are
victims of a set-up.
They've been "maligned by the media" and are the
victims of "character assassination by the media."
"You've to investigate to check whether they have been
set up or not," he told.
Referring to the News of the World -- a newspaper lived as
its exhibits and sensational headlines -- he asked "What is the reputation
of those people who have brought us this story?"
Hasan had spoken to the three players at the Pakistan High
Commission here in the wake of exacts by a London-based Pakistani bookie Mazhar
Majeed that they had bowled no-balls to order in the Lord's Test last week as
part of a plot to defraud illegal bookmakers and pocket huge amounts.
Hasan raised doubts on the authenticity of the News of the
World's tapes of Croydon-based businessman Mazhar Majeed apparently correctly
identifying the exact time when no-balls would occur should be taken at face
value.
In an interview on BBC television, Hasan told, "we're
not seeing on the video what the date is or what the time is."
"Do you've answers to these questions? The video wasn't
timed or dated. It could have been filmed before or after the match, or at a
different time."
Asked if he believes the three players might have been
"set up", he responded: "Yes, I'd say that. Yes."
When contacted about Hasan's remarks, a News of the World
spokesman said the newspaper will "refuse to respond to such ludicrous
allegations".
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