Daily Times

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday ordered the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to furnish a written response to a petition challenging its chairman Ehsan Mani and managing director Waseem Khan’s appointments on the grounds that they allegedly are in a conflict-of-interest situation. The petition, filed by Nauman Butt, a member of PCB’s Board of Governors (BoG), said that since “Mani is a permanent resident of Britain, his appointment is illegal as it constitutes a conflict of interest.” The petitioner also said that “a majority of the BoG members have already declared the appointment of Waseem, the managing director, as null and void owing to him being a British national.” “To not implement the orders of the BoG members as per the PCB constitution is a violation of the law,” the petition stated, requesting the court to intervene and remove Waseem from the position.

After a preliminary hearing, Justice Muzamil Akhtar issued notices to PCB officials, directing them to submit their response by May 21. The petitioner was among the five BoG members who had walked out of a key meeting held in Quetta on April 17. The members had alleged that the PCB chairman had been trying to run Pakistan’s cricket affairs in a dictatorial manner. Subsequently, the PCB had taken Nauman Butt to court with his case referred to an independent adjudicator the very next day after the controversial meeting. Two other members who walked out – FATA’s Kabir Khan and Quetta Region’s Shah Dost – were also issued show-cause notices. However, Lahore Region’s Shahrez Abdullah Rokhari, who initially stood against the PCB chairman along with Nauman, Kabir and Dost, had dissociated himself from the group and has since reconciled with the PCB.