Howzat! Pakistan cops arrested after shaking down star cricketer

Karachi, Nov 28 - Four Pakistan police officers have been charged with corruption hours after one of the country's top cricketers complained of having been shaken down for bribes during a recent road trip, officials said Tuesday.

Sohaib Maqsood, who played 29 one-day internationals and 26 Twenty20 matches for Pakistan until 2021, wrote on X that he had been stopped while driving from Karachi to Multan.

"Sindh police is so corrupt that they stop you after 50 km and ask for money or they threat you to go to the police station...," he posted.

He said he paid 8,000 rupees (around $28) on his way to take part in a T20 match.

Later Tuesday, a statement from Sindh police said four police officers had been found to have been involved in the incident.

"Legal action has been initiated," the statement said, adding that two police officials had been suspended for "negligence".

Police officers in Pakistan have long been accused of corruption, and those in rural areas of the Sindh province have a particularly bad reputation.

International cricketers are usually treated as celebrities in Pakistan, but often conceal their identities in public.