Pakistan Sports Board finally bans controversial weightlifting officials and athletes

The decision came due to violations established by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Testing Agency

The Pakistan Sports Board has announced bans on multiple athletes and officials associated with the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, following conclusive anti-doping violations established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) under Operation JASMINE.

The  Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) issed a press release on Monday and named those who were banned, the list included Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, Farhan Majeed, Hafiz Imran Butt (former PWF President), Irfan Butt (coach), and Waqas Akbar (coach).

The PSB clarified that athletes and coaches will remain barred for the full duration of their international bans, while officials are prohibited from all sports-related activities for four years, effective immediately.

The decision follows a sequence of events beginning in 2021, when several athletes evaded testing and later tested positive, leading to multiple suspensions confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD) in early 2025.

The banned individuals cannot participate in any sports activity, hold office, or access PSB facilities or benefits until the expiry of their ineligibility period.

PSB reaffirmed that Pakistan, as a signatory to the International Convention against Doping in Sport, remains committed to upholding integrity, clean competition, and zero tolerance for doping.

Copies of the notification have been dispatched to the related organisations like the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Council of Asia, International Weightlifting Federation, Asian Weightlifting Federation, WADA, ITA, Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the Pakistan Olympic Association along with other national and international bodies.

Last year in August, the ITA released a detailed report on the violations by Pakistani officials and weightlifters.
Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, Farhan Majeed, Hafiz Imran Butt (former PWF President), Irfan Butt (coach), and Waqas Akbar (coach) were al named in it.

Sharjeel, Abdur Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, and Farhan were sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of four years for doping violation they committed in 2021. 

"On 2 August 2024, the ITA notified a further two athlete support personnel from the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, coach Irfan Butt and President Hafiz Imran Butt, of apparent ADRVs.

"Irfan Butt has been notified of apparent ADRV under Article 2.6 (Possession of Prohibited Substances) and Article 2.8 (Administration of Prohibited Substances) of the IWF ADR committed during the course of 2014 and 2016. President Hafiz Imran Butt has been notified of apparent ADRVs under Article 2.6 (Possession of Prohibited Substances), Article 2.8 (Administration of Prohibited Substances) and Article 2.9 (Complicity) of the IWF ADR, committed during the course of 2014 and 2016," the report added. 

"Given that more than three athletes from the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation have committed ADRVs within a 12-month period, this has triggered Article 12.31 of the IWF ADR. As a result, the matter will be referred to IWF’s Independent Member Federation Sanctioning Panel (IMFSP) to impose appropriate consequences."