Najam Sethi named as new PCB chairperson

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday removed Zaka Ashraf from the post of PCB chief.

ISLAMABAD: Following the Zaka Ashraf controversy, Najam Sethi was named the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday, Express News reported.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday removed Zaka Ashraf from the post of PCB chairperson.

Talking to media in Lahore, Sethi said Prime Minister has constituted the interim body using his constitutional right and I have been elected by the committee unanimously.

We have been tasked to form a new PCB constitution, said Sethi. He further added that new constitution would be formulated after taking all the stakeholders on board.

A notification was also issued regarding the removal and the dissolution of the PCB governing body.

An 11-member interim body was constituted to deal with the day-to-day matters of the cricket board. Shehryar Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Navid Akram, Shakil Shaikh, Najam Sethi, Iqbal Qasim, Yousuf Khokar and Amir Tariq Zaman are part of the interim body.

Radio Pakistan also tweeted about this :

PM Nawaz Sharif as patron-in-chief has dissolved the governing board of Pakistan Cricket Board

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) February 10, 2014

PM has constituted interim committee to run the affairs of Pakistan Cricket Board

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) February 10, 2014

Speaking at a book launch in Lahore, Ashraf, however, stated that he is still the PCB chairperson and has not received the notification yet.

The Islamabad High Court had reinstated Ashraf as PCB chairperson just 27 days ago.

Ashraf was appointed as the board head in the last Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) tenure.

Appointment declared ‘illegal’

On July 19, 2013, the Islamabad High Court had declared appointment of Ashraf “illegal” and directed the acting PCB chief Najam Sethi to hold elections within 90 days.

In a 30-page detailed judgment, Justice Siddiqui had pointed out that Ashraf was not appointed on the basis of his career as a cricketer, but because he was Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited’s (ZTBL) president. While declaring illegal sections 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the PCB charter, the court had observed that these sections were unconstitutional and against democratic values.

On May 28, 2013, the court had declared illegal his appointment in its short order after it was challenged by former coach of the army cricket team, Major (retd) Ahmed Nadeem, citing mala fide intentions in the PCB election.

Ashraf, 60, had been PCB chairman since October 2011.  On May 8, 2013 Ashraf had become the elected head of the sport body, after winning a four-year term under a new constitution approved earlier last year.

Ashraf was accused of corruption. There had been complaints against the ex-chairman for wasting the board’s money by appointing 68 employees on lucrative packages on the basis of favouritism and nepotism. He had also come under the radar for appointing army officials, who had retired or were close to retirement.

Ashraf rebuffs accusations

Ashraf had refuted the accusations, claiming that a group of people were trying to tarnish his image.

“I’ve enjoyed a clean reputation whether being at PCB or ZTBL,” he had said. “Those who have filed cases against me are the ones who were terminated on corruption charges at ZTBL.

“In my leadership, ZTBL had posted a profit of Rs12 billion, the highest by any bank in 50 years. I also tried to take the PCB to new heights by appointing professionals.”

He had added that out of 68 appointees in his tenure most were ground staff while others were vigilance officials who were the need of the hour.