PCB chairman: Govt withdraws plea against Zaka Ashraf

Govt had requested SC to restrain him from handling the affairs of PCB.

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has withdrawn its petition in the Supreme Court against the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) January 15 order which reinstated Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman.

A two-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar observed that if the executive has the power to decide the future of PCB chairman then it could do so without being prejudiced to IHC’s order regarding Ashraf’s reinstatement.

The inter-provincial coordination ministry had moved a petition through Asma Jahangir under Article 185 (3) of the Constitution for leave to appeal against the IHC division bench’s January 15 order.

The petition made Ashraf, Major (retd) Ahmad Nadeem Sadal, federation of Pakistan, through Pakistan Sports Board secretary and acting PCB chairman Najam Sethi as respondents in the case.

The federal government had requested the apex court to restrain Ashraf from handling the affairs of PCB forthwith in order to avoid ‘damage and harm’ to the cricket board.

During the hearing on Friday, the bench told the petitioner’s counsel that the high court could not be an obstacle for the federal government regarding use of its powers in any matter.

The counsel lamented that after the passage of high court’s order, the government was too scared to use its power about deciding the future of PCB chairman.

Meanwhile, Afnan Karim Kundi had requested the bench to instruct the federal government for not using its power. The bench, however, rejected the plea and observed that it could not pass such an order and that if the government took such a mala fide action, it could be challenged at an appropriate forum.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2014.