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LAHORE, Nov 1: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in its proposed constitution has decided to adopt a democratic process to elect its chairman from now onwards.
Announcing the salient features of the proposed constitution PCB ad-hoc committee chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia said that all 108 districts of the country will participate in the election of the chairman.
The chairman will be elected for a term of three-years each, with a maximum tenure of two terms. However, a chairman would have to get the vote of confidence from the Council, every year.
He went on to say that the Council would be formed in which two representatives from Punjab and Sindh each, one each from NWFP, Balochistan, Fata/ Azad Kashmir/ Northern Areas, departments, marketing, player and media would be inducted.
Tauqir pointed out that the constitution was based on the devolution plan and went on to add that the proposed constitution had been reviewed by two retired judges, Justice Ameer Alam and Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum. The proposed constitution, he added, was being sent to the President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf for approval, who is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB.
While replying to a question, he said that he would not contest the election, stating that all citizens of Pakistan, completing the legal requirements, would be eligible to contest for the office of chairman.
He clarified that only the chairman would be elected,while all other posts would be filled through nominations made by the chairman.
Tauqir added that the new constitution was framed after studying the systems of other cricket boards.
Ad hoc will be imposed on all the existing cricket associations after formal approval of the proposed constitution and fresh elections held.
PCB has also appointed Javed Zaman as chairman of the scrutiny/election commission in place of Brig Khawaja Mohammad Nasir.
Zaman will head a three-man committee that will be assigned to conduct free and impartial scrutiny/elections.
The other two members are Brig Iqbal Awan and Ahmad Shahzad Farooq Rana.
He said that around 60 major cricketing districts would also form the general body of the PCB.
Although the decision by the PCB to adopt a democratic process is commendable, the action seems untimely in view of the political situation prevailing in the country.
Tauqir’s plan is in line with the devolution plan, which would be implemented after getting the approval from President Musharraf.
However as a result of general elections held on Oct 10, the elected members of national and provincial assemblies from the main political parties are pressing the government to eliminate the Legal Framework Order (LFO) under which various systems including the devolution plan and nazim system could be abolished.
If the political parties succeeded in their attempt, the devolution plan will go, raising the question will the new constitution of the PCB be practicable in that case or not.
The present cricket board is running under the ad hoc body since 1999 headed by Tauqir. The first duty of any ad hoc body is to prepare the new constitution and to hand over the institution to the genuine representative.
But the PCB ad hoc body which is likely to be retained till the next World Cup had listed the implementation of constitution in last in its agenda of working.
