Justice (retd) Syed Afzal Haider becomes interim chairman of PCB

As per the board’s constitution chief election commissioner takes charge during absence of chairman

KARACHI: The Election Commissioner for the Pakistan Cricket Board Justice (retd) Syed Afzal Haider has taken charge as interim chairman of the board after Najam Sethi’s resignation.

Haider — who is tasked with conducting elections for the new chairman of the board — will inform the PCB’s Board of Governors (BoG) about the procedure and schedule for elections on the next working day, after Eidul Azha holidays.

According to constitution of PCB, the election commissioner has to conduct elections for new chairman within four weeks.

Earlier Sethi had resigned from his post as PCB chairman after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan took oath as the new prime minister of the country.

Soon after the resignation tendered by Najam Sethi, Premier Khan nominated former International Cricket Council (ICC) President Ehsan Mani as the new chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Speaking to Express News, Haider stated that after the entire BoG have confirmed their availability the schedule for elections will be announced. He added that the nomination papers of members who are interested in contesting the elections will also be thoroughly verified before they are allowed to participate.

“As per the constitution of PCB, in case the chairman’s post is vacant, the chief election commissioner takes charge of board affairs,” Haider said. “On Friday August 24, the board members will be informed about the imminent changes in PCB and once they confirm their availability, the schedule for elections will be announced.”

Also sources have stated that people close to former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi — in marketing and other departments — are likely to lose their place within the board. Some of them have already decided to resign before the new chairman takes control of things. It is expected that as soon as Mani is sworn in as the new PCB chief, major changes will happen at top level within the board.