PCB lawyers vowed to defend Chairman Ashraf using constitutional means. PHOTO: AFP
The court orders came as a result of a petition filed by a former regional official questioning the election of Ashraf on May 8.
Following the courts order, Ashraf stopped working as the PCB chairman.
The Board of Governors (BoG) decided to postpone the Annual General Meeting that Ashraf was attending in Karachi as well as a scheduled BoG meeting until further notice.
Ashraf confirmed to The Express Tribune that he had distanced himself from the PCB affairs.
“The decision to postpone the meetings was taken by BoG members,” said Ashraf. “I wasn’t a part of it due to the court orders. Our legal experts will examine the case and decide the future course of action.”
‘Court not guided properly’
PCB’s legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said the board will defend the case.
“Full facts were not given to the honourable court in the petition,” said Rizvi. “We will defend the case and will apprise the court on the constitution which was vetted by the government and the International Cricket Council (ICC).”
Ashraf became the first elected chairman after the implementation of the new constitution in accordance with ICC guidelines to end undue government intervention.
Five regional associations and as many departments have been given voting rights under the new constitution with new regions Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali taking part in the election. However, there was no representation from Punjab and Karachi, the largest province and city respectively, triggering protests from the associations.
The board is also facing two more petitions filed by Faisalabad and Sialkot regions and one from former wicket-keeper Rashid Latif against the chairman’s election.
Regional associations revolt against Ashraf
Regional associations that were not a part of the electoral process for the election of PCB chairman announced to intensify their campaign for the removal of Ashraf at a joint press conference in Lahore yesterday.
The representatives from Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi urged the suspended PCB chairman to resign.
“The new constitution is undemocratic,” said the head of Multan region Mian Mohammad Munir.
“The election was flawed and it all happened under the so-called democratic constitution. There are many glitches in the constitution itself and our prime demand is to make amendments in it.
“Secondly, we want Ashraf out as the PCB chairman and then a re-election for the chairman’s post. We welcome the court’s orders and will continue to fight against this election legally until we succeed.”
The PCB later imposed an ad-hoc system on the associations who had revolted after being snubbed from participation in the electoral process of Ashraf.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013.
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Regardless of the problems with the internal elections and his political affiliation, he is still probably one of the few people qualified enough to take the PCB out of its current problems, financially. He enjoys a lot of respect in the international business community, as well as within the ICC and with the BCCI. If you want ties with BCCI to be fully-restored, he is the perfect person to do it. Plus, his tough stance with the BCB was very encouraging - hopefully the PCB lawyers will successfully defend his case. Cricket is not like politics, there should be equal representation from all provinces, it should not be based on population density.
As per the new constitution, the board of governors was restructured to include ten members - five regional representatives on the basis of rotation and five representatives of service organisations and departments - with voting rights. Of the ten, PCB was able to appoint nine, all of whom voted in favour of Ashraf's nomination. However, there was no representation from Punjab, Pakistan's largest province with 60% of country's population, while two new regions without any first-class team - Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali - were drafted in to the board.
The process was conducted without any prior announcement, the PCB revealing the appointment through a press release.
I feel for PCB lawyers, their case is pretty week. IHC did the right thing it had to happen. Zaka Ashraf was another failure as he spent millions in the name of international cricket without any gain
Mr.zaka was the remnant of previous regime, friend of mr. Zardari who appointed him PCB chairman now he tried to hold the cmanship for further 4 years under the garb of sham/ shame election but court rightly hindered his malafide ambitions.