IHC slams petitioner in Mohsin Naqvi PCB Chairmanship case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) convened to hear a petition challenging the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The proceedings held on Friday, led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, saw the court express frustration at the petitioner's representation.

The case was brought forward by citizen Ahmed Nawaz Khan, who contended that Naqvi's appointment was "improper".

However, CJ Farooq raised concerns over the omission of Naqvi as a party in the petition.

He questioned the petitioner’s lawyer, asking, "You have challenged whose appointment?" to which the lawyer responded, "We have challenged Mohsin Naqvi's appointment as PCB Chairman."

The court further expressed dissatisfaction with the petition's clarity, noting, "Where does it state the parties involved? Read your petition; you have listed the Ministry of Interior as party number six. Is this how petitions are filed?"

In light of the lawyer's request for additional time to amend the petition, the court granted the request and adjourned the hearing indefinitely.

Earlier in March, the IHC reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a plea challenging the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as PCB chairman.

The petition, heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, was filed in the court contending that although it is the prerogative of the prime minister to appoint the PCB chief, there lies a distinction between the authority of an elected prime minister and a caretaker one.

The petitioner's counsel argued a caretaker prime minister "cannot be the PCB's patron-in-chief", who has the authority to appoint the PCB head.

PCB Chairman's Senate seat

Meanwhile, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on September 10 overruled an objection from the registrar's office regarding a petition seeking the disqualification of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi as a member of the Senate.

The judge directed the registrar's office to present the petition before an appropriate bench of the high court for the hearing.

The registrar's office had questioned the locus standi, or the right to bring a legal action, of petitioner Mashkoor Hussain.

In response, Hussain, represented by his counsel Advocate Nadeem Sarwar, argued that Naqvi held the public office of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman at the time of his election as a senator.

"Under clause 7(1) of the PCB constitution, Naqvi’s appointment was made, and clause 7(7) entitled him to remuneration, allowances, and privileges, making the office one of profit," Hussain asserted.

The petitioner maintained that clause 7(7) of the PCB constitution rendered Naqvi's position an "office of profit," thereby disqualifying him from being elected as a senator under Article 63 (c) & (d) of the Constitution.

These articles state that a person is disqualified from being a member of parliament if they hold an office of profit in the service of Pakistan.

Hussain requested the court to declare Naqvi ineligible to continue his Senate membership while holding the position of PCB chairman.

The case is set to proceed before the appropriate bench as directed by Justice Sheikh.

On February 6, Naqvi — a media channel owner — who was serving as Punjab's interim chief minister was elected unopposed as the PCB chairman for three years after being nominated by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar for the cricketing body's Board of Governors.

"I will try to fix the issues affecting Pakistan cricket. Reforms in cricket are the need of the hour," he said while commenting on his appointment as the PCB chief.

He is currently serving as the 37th chairman of the cricket board after his predecessor Zaka Ashraf stepped down as chairman management committee in January.

"I was working for the betterment of cricket but it is not possible for us to work in this way," Ashraf said.

During the tenure of Ashraf, Pakistan played two major competitions — Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup.

Naqvi was appointed to the sought-after post after the board was hit by a series of resignations following the team's dismal performances in major tournaments.

The officials who had stepped down from their posts included Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick.