KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistani cricket used international anti-corruption day Thursday to pledge zero tolerance on graft and bounce back from a series of damaging scandals that have hammered the team. Cricket, almost the only entertainment that unites Pakistanis across the social divide, from Karachi in the south to the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, is fast shedding popularity because of corruption. Three Pakistani players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on charges of spot-fixing during team's Lord's Test against England in August. The trio appear before an ICC anti-corruption tribunal in Qatar from January 6-11 and face severe punishment, including lengthy bans. Four other players Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz and Imran Farhat are under suspicion of spot-fixing, while Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria have not been cleared for selection, apparently over wrongdoings in the past. Pakistans surprise defeat against Australia in Januarys Sydney Test also formed the basis of an ICC inquiry, resulting in a notice to Kamran. The slew of allegations forced the ICC to chastise Pakistan, ordering them to take strict measures to curb corruption, or risk sanction. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said Thursday that the authorities were committed to rooting out graft. PCB has taken strict measures in its fight against corruption with a stricter code of conduct, increased stress on its programmes of player awareness and implementation of the anti-corruption code in domestic cricket efforts which have been appreciated by the ICC, said Sarwar. We are committed to maintain our zero tolerance policy towards corruption. Former Supreme court judge Fakhruddin Ibrahim blamed money for corrupting Pakistani sportsmen, many of whom come from impoverished backgrounds. Corruption is not only confined to Pakistan, but it is more obvious here than anywhere else in the world, Ibrahim told AFP. I think with the influx of money our players became greedy and were trapped in corruption. Ibrahim, who conducted a match-fixing inquiry in 1995, blamed the PCB for failing to steer players in the proper direction. PCB is the guardian of players who come from poor backgrounds and because some of them are uneducated, they need proper guidance, which wasnt there and hence they fall into the trap, said Ibrahim. Former captain Ramiz Raja believes that corruption in cricket is the product of a society that lacks leadership. It is the mindset of making a quick buck rather than working for the long haul, he wrote in British newspaper The Telegraph last August. Kashif Raza, a college student, believes corruption has brought Pakistan cricket to its lowest ebb. Anger among the people is particularly acute because the players are alleged to have been filling their pockets while tens of thousands of their countrymen suffer because of inflation and lack of income, said Raza. I was a big fan of cricket, but not any more.