Petition filed in IHC against Najam Sethi's appointment as PCB chairman
Court will decide on July 1 whether to hear the petition or not.
The appointment of Najam Sethi as chairman PCB has been challemged. PHOTO: ATHER KHAN/EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The appointment of acting Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi was challenged on Wednesday in the same court that removed his predecessor, Zaka Ashraf.
Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) had on Tuesday termed the appointment of Sethi as contrary to the Pakistan Cricket Board's constitution. On Wednesday, an amateur cricketer Abdullah Tahir filed a petition against the appointment in the Islamabad High Court, and demanded his immediate removal.
Sethi, 65, a senior journalist, had most recently served as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab and oversaw the May general elections in the province. On Sunday, he was appointed on ad hoc basis by the newly elected Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) prime minister to temporarily fill the post left vacant by Ashraf.
Tahir, a law graduate, in his petition claimed that Sethi's appointment was made on a ‘political basis’ which was in violation of the PCB constitution.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of IHC, who had restrained Ashraf as PCB chairman, had directed the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) to appoint an interim chairman.
The ministry had then informed the court on June 19 that it had sent the prime minister three names, including former cricketer Majid Khan, cricket commentator Chishti Mujahid and Mumtaz Rizvi, to choose an acting chairman. However, on June 22, the prime minister handed the charge to Sethi.
The petitioner argued that the ICC has upgraded its standard to separate politics from cricket. Subsequently, the constitution of the board was amended. He requested the court to declare the appointment of Sethi as illegal, and pass an order for the appointment of a professional from the relevant field.
Earlier on May 28, the IHC had restrained Zaka Ashraf from performing as chairman of PCB in response to a petition by Major Retd Ahmed Nadeem Suddle, a former coach of army cricket. Suddle had challenged the May 8 election in which Ashraf had been elected as the PCB chief.
The court will decide on Monday July 1 whether to admit the petition for hearing.
The appointment of acting Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi was challenged on Wednesday in the same court that removed his predecessor, Zaka Ashraf.
Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) had on Tuesday termed the appointment of Sethi as contrary to the Pakistan Cricket Board's constitution. On Wednesday, an amateur cricketer Abdullah Tahir filed a petition against the appointment in the Islamabad High Court, and demanded his immediate removal.
Sethi, 65, a senior journalist, had most recently served as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab and oversaw the May general elections in the province. On Sunday, he was appointed on ad hoc basis by the newly elected Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) prime minister to temporarily fill the post left vacant by Ashraf.
Tahir, a law graduate, in his petition claimed that Sethi's appointment was made on a ‘political basis’ which was in violation of the PCB constitution.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of IHC, who had restrained Ashraf as PCB chairman, had directed the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) to appoint an interim chairman.
The ministry had then informed the court on June 19 that it had sent the prime minister three names, including former cricketer Majid Khan, cricket commentator Chishti Mujahid and Mumtaz Rizvi, to choose an acting chairman. However, on June 22, the prime minister handed the charge to Sethi.
The petitioner argued that the ICC has upgraded its standard to separate politics from cricket. Subsequently, the constitution of the board was amended. He requested the court to declare the appointment of Sethi as illegal, and pass an order for the appointment of a professional from the relevant field.
Earlier on May 28, the IHC had restrained Zaka Ashraf from performing as chairman of PCB in response to a petition by Major Retd Ahmed Nadeem Suddle, a former coach of army cricket. Suddle had challenged the May 8 election in which Ashraf had been elected as the PCB chief.
The court will decide on Monday July 1 whether to admit the petition for hearing.