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`Go to hell,' fans say to returning Pakistan players

Angry fans told Pakistan cricketers to "go to hell" as they returned home yesterday, still reeling from the murder of coach Bob Woolmer and their humiliating World Cup exit.

Allrounder Shahid Afridi, spinner Danish Kaneria, wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and paceman Mohammad Sami were heckled by a crowd of around 100 people after they touched down at Karachi international airport.

"Why have you come back?" one fan shouted as the players were protected by dozens of uniformed police, while another supporter bellowed "Go to hell" at Afridi, an AFP reporter said.

When Kaneria tried to leave the arrivals lounge the crowd shouted "Shame on you" and he went back inside, before asking for police protection to help him leave, witnesses said.

Speaking briefly to the media before being driven away, Afridi said that all the Pakistani players were feeling "disturbed" after the events of the past two weeks.

Pakistan were dumped out of the World Cup by minnows Ireland on March 18. A day later Woolmer's strangled body was found in his room on the 12th floor of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

Asked about the inquiry into the murder of Woolmer, Afridi said: "The police did ask us a few questions but these were normal inquiries. We have been asked by the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] not to speak much on the issue."

He added: "Just pray for us."

Akmal, who was going to take a connecting flight to Lahore, refused to talk specifically about Woolmer's murder but paid tribute to him.

"I don't want to say much on this issue but we all loved Bob. He was a nice coach and a nice person. He was like a father to all of us," he said.

Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and some squad members were expected to arrive in the eastern city of Lahore later yesterday.

Allrounder Yasir Arafat landed at Islamabad international airport early yesterday but refused to comment before being driven away.

Pakistani police had earlier pledged to protect the players if necessary.

"We are deploying police at the airport. We will not allow people to go near the players," Lahore police chief Malik Iqbal said. "The players will be provided with mobile police escorts as well."

Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said: "Police will escort the players from the airport to their homes and will not allow any untoward incident."

Vice captain Younis Khan and batsman Mohammad Yousuf returned to Karachi late on Monday.

The Pakistani players have come via Dubai and London, where they kept a low profile for two days following their ill-fated World Cup trip.

Team spokesman Pervez Mir said the players had no safety fears about returning home, although he admitted that Pakistani fans would be disappointed with their performance.

Squad not ruled out

Detectives investigating the murder of cricket coach Bob Woolmer on Tuesday denied claims that Pakistan's squad had been ruled out of the inquiry as potential suspects.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said comments made by Pakistan spokesman Pervez Mir that detectives had cleared team members of any involvement in Woolmer's death were "inaccurate."

Speaking before Pakistan's players flew home after a stop-over in London on Tuesday, Mir told reporters that Jamaican police had confirmed the Pakistan team were "not suspects" in Woolmer's murder.

But Shields dismissed Mir's claims in an interview with the BBC later on Tuesday.

"That's a pretty inaccurate statement, because nobody at this stage can be ruled out of the inquiry," Shields said.

Police have so far failed to reveal any significant breakthroughs as they hunt for Woolmer's killer or killers, and on Tuesday made an international appeal for witnesses to come forward.

Detectives were trying to track down anyone who stayed or visited the hotel in the days leading up to Woolmer's death, Shields said.

"What I need to do is to identify everybody in the hotel from Friday through to Sunday when Bob's body was found, in an effort to establish everybody's movements during that period of time," he told reporters. "Not just as suspects but as potential witnesses -- people who may have heard something, seen something within the hotel that raised their suspicions, that so far they haven't come forward with."

Shields urged any cricket fans or tourists who had since returned to their home countries to dial the international hotline or contact their local police.

The new appeal comes amid speculation that the trail has gone cold, and may take months or even years to resolve.
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