Scotland cricket star ‘did a Reggie Perrin’

By Chris Marshall
Published on Friday 28 October 2011 12:23

THE wife of a former cricket star who died two years ago has claimed her husband may have faked his own death.

The death of Asim Butt, who played 71 times for Scotland, while visiting his birthplace of Lahore, led to tributes from figures including First Minister Alex Salmond.

But Mr Butt’s estranged wife, Tara, now claims her husband may be alive and well after failing to track down a copy of his death certificate.

It was reported in November 2009 that Mr Butt, who ran an Edinburgh newsagent’s, had died in his sleep at the age of 42.

However, his wife has now raised doubts about that version of events after claiming she has since been unable to find any record of her husband’s death.

She believes Mr Butt may have faked his own death for financial gain or to assume a new identity in order to be with a woman who he was having an affair with.

Mrs Butt, the mother of the couple’s three children, said she had been repeatedly told by the Pakistani authorities that no death record existed for the cricketer, and her lawyer has also failed to track one down.

The 48-year-old, who now lives in Egypt, also claimed Mr Butt’s family had refused to respond to her inquiries.

She said: “In the beginning, I believed Asim had died. It was in the newspapers and that was what I was told by his family, but I became more and more suspicious when I couldn’t get the death certificate.

“I don’t know whether he has faked his death for financial reasons or to be with another woman. His family don’t answer my calls or e-mails.”

Mr Butt, who played for the Heriot’s club in Edinburgh for more than a decade, was given a one-year ban after giving a positive drugs test following a match between the Scottish Saltires and the Somerset Sabres on 11 May, 2005. He claimed at the time that a cigarette he smoked at a party was laced with drugs.

The couple, who had lived together in Granton, had three sons after getting married 16 years ago.

Mrs Butt said she had left her husband in 2005 after he had an affair with a woman who gave birth to his son.

The couple reconciled and Mr Butt later won a battle against a brain tumour before they split again over his alleged infidelity, and Mrs Butt moved to Egypt with her sons.

Mrs Butt added: “Asim came to Egypt to see me and the kids in August 2009. He said he was getting pressure from his sister, who has four daughters, to allow them to marry our sons. Asim was also in a lot of debt.

“Asim went to Lahore in Nov-ember to deal with the sale of his father’s house. I was told about Asim’s death by his family by phone. They had found his body in the house at around 8am or 9am, and said that he had died in his sleep. There was a funeral but I could not afford to fly over to Pakistan.

“I tried to get a death certificate so I could show I was a widow and not divorced. My children were in private school and I needed to prove I was a widow to pay reduced fees.

“I hired a lawyer in Egypt but he could not get a death certificate from Pakistan. The authorities say no-one with that date of birth and name had passed away. I’ve tried the Home Office and the Pakistani Consulate in Glasgow and they’ve not been able to help me either.”

Mrs Butt, who was born in Pakistan but moved to the UK with her parents and holds British citizenship, met the cricket star, who always remained a Pakistani national, while he was visiting London to apply for asylum.

The asylum bid was unsuccessful, but Mr Butt was granted his visa after the pair were wed.Mrs Butt said: “I’ve never had a penny from Asim’s estate since 2009. His sons are entitled to a share of the house in Lahore, but I just want the truth.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said it had no record of dealing with Mr Butt’s death. A Home Office spokeswoman said she would not be able to assist as Mr Butt was not a British citizen.

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