4th August, 2014 Honourable Justice Mian Saqib Nisar Judge of the Supreme Court, Islamabad. CRUX: Apex Court’s verdict on Pakistan Cricket Board and unanswered questions Your Lordship, The Supreme Court has given its verdict in the litigation between two former chairmen of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi and Muhammad Zaka Ashraf and hoped that it would end the year long mess which impaired the Board excessively in all respects. Your Lordship, you have rightly observed in your judgment: “The institution has been in doldrums and hiccups since the time of commencement of this litigation. The people of Pakistan has great passion for the game of cricket and earnestly desire and want to see the PCB emerging as a strong, independent, democratic and accountable institution. But the smooth functioning, prestige and prominence of the PCB were seriously hampered with the litigation”. While the Apex Court has sincerely tried to streamline the smooth functioning of the PCB and make it an accountable and democratic institution, still there are questions which are unanswered and disturb the real stake holders of Pakistan cricket. Being a passionate follower of the game of Gentlemen, I strongly feel that the lawyers contesting the case in the Supreme Court, advertently or inadvertently, concealed facts about the formation, working, preparation of the constitution of the PCB and the guideline given by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make it a democratic body. Your Lordship, please allow me to draw your attention towards some very important issues which are still to be settled. I fear that they could crop up in future. First: How has the Prime Minister become patron of the PCB? As it appeared in the edition of The News, Rawalpindi/Islamabad and I quote: “After the 18th Amendment, the PM after the required advice can take over any position. The PM has decided to become the patron of the PCB.” The News, Islamabad/Rawalpindi Wednesday, October 16, 2013. Your Lordship, I am not a student of law but the question which disturbs every ardent fan of the game is: Was it a constitutional power/obligation of the Head of the State to be the Patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board before the passage of the 18th amendment in the constitution of the country? If it was then I wouldn’t contest my point but would like to submit the facts how the Head of the State became the Patron of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP). Since the formation of the BCCP, nomenclature Pakistan Cricket Board in 1994, the Head of the State has remained the Patron of the PCB. When the BCCP was formed in November 1947, the then general body of the Board had decided to request Quaid-i-Azam, the governor general of Pakistan, to become its Patron. After that it became a tradition which was sacredly followed till the self-appointment of the Prime Minister as the Patron. Your Lordship, my submission is that only the general body of the Board is empowered to make any amendment in the constitution, allowing the Prime Minister to be the Patron instead of the Head of the State. Being the Head of the State, Quaid-i-Azam had accepted this title on the desire of the general body of the then BCCP. And since then this title rested with the Head of the State. Why has this tradition been infringed? Your Lordship, it is noteworthy that the prime minister had taken this whimsical decision (becoming the Patron of the PCB) in an indecent haste, only two days before the Islamabad High Court’s deadline of October 18, 2013 given to Najam Sethi to complete the election of the PCB chairman according to the ICC directives. Sethi had failed to meet the deadline. Your Lordship, in my view gross violation has been committed at some level – by the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination or the kitchen cabinet of the incumbent Prime Minister. Whosoever advised the prime minister to become the Patron or amend the constitution of the PCB has severely damaged the very essence behind making Head of the State, a symbol of Federation, as the Patron of the Pakistan cricket. Cricket is the only game that binds Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis and Pashtoons into a one nation. Your Lordship, the onus, however, rests with the incumbent Prime Minister who boasts about making history by assuming the office for a third term. It is simply a case of Arrogance of Power! I also wonder that how could the prime minister who himself is a cricketer can do an undemocratic act for which he was not empowered even after the passage of the 18th Amendment. Second: How the incumbent Prime Minister has been empowered to amend the constitution of the PCB? Your Lordship, Only general body of the PCB can amend the constitution. Even the president, who in my view is still the legitimate Patron of the Board, never enjoyed this power in the previous constitutions of the Board. Third: The Federal Government had formed a committee comprising Justices Faqir Muhammad Kokhar and Syed Jamshed Ali Shah, former judges of the Supreme Court, to formulate a new constitution of the PCB. The constitution proposed by the committee has been enforced through a July 10 notification. Your Lordship, I have been deeply perturbed that some retired judges have prepared the new constitution of the PCB. And the stakeholders have also endorsed it. I would be the last person to contest the competence and credibility of the honouable judges who framed the constitution of the PCB. It was not their job. It was the job of the real stakeholders which are district cricket associations and the departments affiliated with the PCB. If the constitution of Pakistan is being framed and amended by the parliamentarians who are the real stakeholders then why the stakeholders of Pakistan cricket were ignored in the preparation of the constitution of the PCB. Fourth: The Apex Court had given seven days to the self-appointed Patron of the PCB to appoint a new chairman. The deadline has already been passed and the government had failed to obey Court’s order. Isn’t this contempt of court? Your Lordship, this is not the first instance that court’s order was ignored. The prime minister had already rejected a summary prepared by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination under the court’s order to appoint the chairman of the PCB. Your Lordship, The election for the new chairman of the PCB is an historic event which is, sadly, being settled by the Court. This election has to be conducted amidst decision of the International Cricket Council which requires a democratic process in the election for the head of every cricket board across the cricket playing world. In May last year, only a few days before the general elections, the suspended chairman of the PCB Zaka Ashraf had got himself elected under the cover of a dubious constitution tailor made to perpetuate his tenure. The real stakeholders were contemptuously ignored during the election process. Your Lordship, the district cricket associations are the real stakeholders in Pakistan cricket. In my view they form the National Assembly of Pakistan cricket. The officials of these associations are elected by the votes of the local clubs, established at the grassroots level. This is a democratic way of electing their representatives. These district associations then form Regions which in my view are the Senate of Pakistan cricket. Again the real stakeholders have been disdainfully ignored in every process. The National Assembly elects the leader of the house, the prime minister. Similarly, the district associations should be allowed to elect their leader to head the PCB not a bunch of few regional heads and government nominated members of the governing board which is against the norms of democracy. Your Lordship, the shenanigans going on in the Pakistan Cricket Board are extremely painful for the cricket lovers of this game of Gentlemen. This must end. The Apex Court must look into the issue and ensure that the democratic process should be adopted in the election of the new PCB chairman. Let’s enumerate what has happened in the recent years in the world of cricket. The ICC had raised the issue of governance wherein they had categorically stated that there shall not be any government interference in the running of cricket affairs amongst the Test playing countries of the world. Your Lordship, If we peep into the court battle that has been fought in last one and half years we observe Zaka Ashraf who was the chairman of the PCB in 2013. Hardly a week before the general elections in the country he managed the approval for a manipulated constitution and appointed himself as Czar of Pakistan cricket through a fraudulent process of election. His election was challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The Court suspended Zaka Ashraf, declared the election null and void, laid down the criteria for chairman PCB and instructed that elections should be held within 30 days. That judgment was welcomed by all and sundry. IHC had also directed the government to prepare a summary carrying three names for appointment as interim Chairman of the PCB. The Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination prepared summary comprising names of renowned cricketer Majid Khan, commentator Chishty Mujahid and a retired bureaucrat named Mumtaz Rizvi. But the prime minister chose Najam Sethi, a journalist and TV anchor of “Chirya fame” to head the PCB. Sethi’s appointment was largely criticized by the cricket circles and the politicians alike. One cricket turned politician even went to the extent vehemently alleging that Sethi was rewarded for favouring PNL (N) in the general elections in 2013. What has happened subsequently, after the appointment of Sethi, has made Pakistan the laughing stock of the cricket world. Zaka was a crony of Asif Ali Zardari while the incumbent prime minister, for reasons best known to him, was adamant that Sethi was the man for the job who enjoyed his full favour. What kind of democracy is this? Your Lordship, As per the 1995 constitution of the PCB, the Electoral College comprised the provincial presidents, heads of departmental cricket and the presidents of District Cricket Associations who had voting rights. The Lord Woolf Report clearly indicated that the chairman must be elected from amongst the stake holders, the elected people, who were running cricket in their representative areas. Needless to say Zaka and Sethi were unfit for the job because they hadn’t gone through the democratic election process. Electing a Chairman from amongst the Board of Governors- again appointed by the prime minster would be a travesty of justice and undemocratic. The Chairman must be elected from amongst the stake holders and the 1995 constitution must be reinstated. Your Lordship, The Apex Court must fix the qualification for the candidates aspiring to contest the election for the new chairman of the PCB. In its full judgment the Islamabad High Court had tried to settle this issue: “Since, it would be the first ever election of PCB, therefore, Electoral College shall consist of Presidents of all elected Regional and District Cricket Associations and nominees of departments playing first class cricket. Every voter of the Electoral College shall be eligible to contest the election provided he is not carrying any disqualification under organic law of the country i.e. Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, remained First-Class / Test Cricketer or has experience of running District or Regional Cricket Association and in case of nominee from First- Class playing departments has experience of administration, at least Graduate and not a defaulter of PCB”. Your Lordship, Towering personalities with perfect understanding of cricket and management experience have led Pakistan Cricket Board in the past. They were all nominated by the Patron who was always the Head of the State. It is so unfortunate that after late Syed Fida Hassan, late Abdul Hafeez Kardar and late Air Martial (R) Nur Khan, PCB could not get any chairman having good administrative qualities, understanding about the game of Cricket and desire to promote the game at gross root level. While it is imperative that the new chairman of the PCB should possess deep knowledge of cricket, international and domestic, he should also be an excellent administrator as well who understand the financial and marketing aspects of the Game of Gentlemen and could effectively present PCB’s view point at the ICC meetings. Your Lordship, Pakistan has no dearth of competent former Test cricketers in Pakistan. We have the likes of Majid Khan, Salim Altaf and few others who are educated and possess immense knowledge of the game and also have vast management experience. They are all well-known figures in international cricket and their integrity is beyond doubt. And above all they are proven administrators as well. But they have no temperament of power politics which can be vigorously demonstrated in the elections for the PCB chairman. If the stakeholders – district associations and departments who have played a significant role in the development and promotion of cricket in Pakistan really want this game to survive, they should support a cricketer who can serve the game honestly, openly and uprightly. Your Lordship, Pakistan cricket is at a crossroads. Prudence demand that the election process for chairman PCB should be fair and transparent and may the person elected be allowed to administer the affairs of cricket in Pakistan without any government interference. With my profoundest regards, Asif Sohail Old Ravian Sports Journalist Former special assistant to the PCB chairman Former director media (Acting) of the PCB Cell: 0323-4486150 aqajan@gmail
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 12:48:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015