Staying put: Islamabad a no-go for PCB headquarters

Senate committee decides against moving the board from Lahore to the capital

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: The Senate’s Devolution Committee, which oversees relations between the provinces and the federation, has rejected the idea of shifting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad.

The committee also suggested establishing cricket academies across Pakistan in order to provide opportunities to promising youngsters.

The committee which met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo came to the conclusion that shifting the board’s headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad would be unfeasible and not a ‘good idea’.

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The idea had been put forward last month by Senator Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan Musakhel, who had argued that the PCB is a ‘symbol of the state’ and its headquarters should therefore be in the capital.

The Devolution Committee took up the issue after it was referred to them by the Upper House of parliament.

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PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi and chief selector Haroon Rasheed also argued that transferring PCB headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad would be unfeasible due to the wholesale changes required to do so.

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Rizvi briefed the committee that more than 350 PCB employees work in Lahore, where a board structure is already in place. He argued that shifting to Islamabad would mean starting from scratch.

“It is almost impossible to move PCB headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad, and we’ve presented our case,” Rizvi told The Express Tribune. “The members of the committee listened with intent and realised that it wouldn’t be a favourable move.”

A majority of the committee members also argued that moving the PCB would set a precedent that would need to be followed by the many other sports federations that are based in Lahore.

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The committee was also informed that 16 new cricketing academies will be established across the country within the next five years.

Rizvi added that the PCB had asked the committee for help in getting tax exemptions that are afforded to other sports federations so that the board has more money to invest in the development of cricket.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2015.

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