IHC orders PCB to hold elections on Nov 2

Ad-hoc committee and all arrangements made by acting government are to be rendered invalid by Nov 2.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hold elections on November 2, Express News reported on Monday.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui gave the orders.

The ad-hoc committee and all arrangements made by the acting government are to be rendered invalid by November 2.

IHC also ordered PCB to announce the election schedule today. It stated that the electoral college is not a large one and comprises of only 111 voters.

Earlier a writ petition had been filed at the Lahore High Court challenging the constitution of an ad hoc committee by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run the PCB’s affairs. Petitioner Aftab Maqsood had said that the prime minister, now also the patron-in-chief of the PCB, was not authorised to constitute an interim management committee.

He had stated that the prime minister had acted beyond his powers. Maqsood had said PCB elections should be held without delay. He had also asked the court to set aside the interim management committee and direct the prime minister to hold elections.

On October 15, Nawaz, in the face of two looming deadlines, had dissolved the PCB and constituted an interim management committee to run the game’s affairs in the country. The committee comprised Najam Sethi, former cricketers Zaheer Abbas and Haroon Rasheed, former PCB chairman Shahryar Khan and former team manager Naved Cheema.