Following the unceremonious departure of his predecessor Najam Sethi, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-backed Zaka Ashraf took charge of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) management committee on Thursday.
In a statement, the cricket board said all formalities regarding Ashraf’s appointment as the head of the management committee have been completed.
The new chief was received by senior PCB officials on his arrival at the headquarters in Lahore, where he will chair the meeting of the 10-member committee, which was approved by the Cabinet Division through circulation on Wednesday.
Ashraf’s appointment comes amid differences over the appointment between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP, with the PPP supporting Ashraf and the PML-N supporting Sethi.
But Sethi decided to drop out of the race, paving the way for Ashraf’s appointment.
The 10-member management committee formed for four months consists of Zaka Ashraf (former chairman PCB), Kaleemullah Khan, Ashfaq Akhtar, Mohammad Mossadeq Islam, Azmat Parvez, Zaheer Abbas, Khurram Karim Soomro, Khawaja Nadeem, Mustafa Ramde. and Zulfiqar Malik (all members).
“I am grateful to everyone, including the Prime Minister (Pattern-in-Chief), who trusted me,” Zaka Ashraf told JEE News.
A summary sent by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to the Prime Minister’s Office said that in the context of upcoming events in international cricket and major decisions in the International Council of Cricket (ICC) and all To ensure comprehensive and effective management, the PCB Ministry has proposed setting up a new Management Committee for a period of four months as a measure to overcome the difficulties arising from the current situation.
Moreover, the ineligibility of the current Election Commissioner of PCB has resulted in several legal proceedings, which may hamper the smooth functioning of the board and attract the attention of the ICC, which is not in the interest of the country. Will be.
Therefore, the ministry believes that Ahmad Shahzad Farooq Rana can be removed from the post of Election Commissioner of PCB and Supreme Court Advocate Mahmood Iqbal Khakwani can be appointed in his place.
Later, the federal government issued a separate notification in this regard.
The PCB Management Committee was dissolved on completion of its extended term (Annexure-VI), and the matters under Article 7(2) of the PCB Constitution, 2014 were referred to the Election Commissioner of the PCB. were handed over.
However, due to untimely and delayed decisions, elections could not be held, which was the primary function and responsibility of the Election Commissioner of PCB. This has led to an uncertainty and numerous litigations in various courts.
