Lahore, Jan. 31: A day after the Indian Premier League (IPL) slapped a ban on Pakistani speedster Mohammad Asif for testing positive for taking a banned substance to enhance performance, he (Asif) appeared before a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committee which is probing his 19-day detention in Dubai last June for the illegal possession of a banned substance (opium).

The three-man committee, which first met on last Thursday, heard Asif's plea and decided that the final decision would be taken after consulting the board's chairman, Ejaz Butt.

Lahore, Jan 30 : The Pakistan Cricket Board will seek a clarification on the status of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) during the International Cricket Council''s (ICC) executive board meeting in Perth on Saturday.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt will inform the ICC board members of the intense pressure his board is facing to lift the ban on ICL players from playing for Pakistan.

"So far, the PCB is claiming that it has banned the ICL players as per the ICC policy regarding unauthorized leagues," The Nation quoted a board official, as saying.

Lahore, Jan 30 : Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the Lahore Declaration should be the basis to resolve the Kashmir issue, hoping that the ''spirit'' of 1999 agreement signed with India will be "restored sooner or later."

"Kashmir is a core issue between Pakistan and India and it needs to be resolved in the same spirit as was expressed between the then two prime ministers when Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to Pakistan and signed the Lahore Declaration," Sharif told reporters.

Lahore, Jan. 28 : Former Pakistan cricket captain Javed Miandad on Wednesday said that he resigned from the post of Director-General of the Pakistan Cricket Board because he was restricted only to domestic cricket which was not acceptable to him.

Miandad said that his resignation is not linked with the board's decision of changing the captain of the national team.

He said that he had not signed any agreement with the PCB, but was working selflessly for cricket and did not take any penny from the board.

Lahore, Jan 28 : The Director General of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Javed Miandad, resigned with immediate effect on Wednesday.

Talking with Geo News, Miandad said that he cannot tolerate any interference into his matters while discharging his duties nor he can take any dictation in this regard.

He said that he was asked to look after all cricketing matters of the board but he feels that he has been restricted only to domestic cricket.

Miandad further said that he wanted to serve the country in the field of cricket, but unfortunately he is not being given the opportunity.

Lahore, Jan. 28 : Abdul Waheed's joining the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has sparked fresh controversy inside the party, with senior leaders fuming over the decision to include the cousin of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, against whom the PPP had battled long for reinstatement of democracy in Pakistan.

According to The Nation, senior PPP leaders are furious about Waheed's joining the party, as he belonged to the family which had deprived the party of its founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.