December 28, 2003	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 4, 1424

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Shaharyar M. Khan has succeeded Lt. Gen (Retd) Tauqir Zia as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He is one man’s selection, just his predecessor was. It is immaterial in our context whether he has the right credential for the job.

Instead of letting his deeds do the talking, Mr Khan is as his predecessors committing the same mistakes singing the same old tunes, giving press statements and holding press conferences.

His thrust is on bringing transparency to the management of the organization, with merit being the sole criteria. Noble words indeed but exactly the same vows were made by others before him. Whether Mr. Khan will be able to deliver what he promises is anybody’s guess.

Tauqir Zia’s selection was without doubt a controversial one. Like Mr.Khan he came from nowhere to land the big catch. Being a serving general, Tauqir Zia should never have been appointed in the first place. Such nominations have done nothing but tarnished the image of Pakistan and destroyed institutions.

Why presidents, prime ministers and military dicatators involve themselves in appointing people in sports organizations in Pakistan is beyond comprehension. Perhaps it is not in our genes to follow accepted and democratic norms.

The continuation of this unethical policy practised over past 50 years is the reason why Pakistan has become a laughing stock of he sporting world and the country’s graph in every sports discipline has gone down during last decade. We are now equated with the sporting minnows Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

Surely our heads of state have far more pressing matters to attend to in this debt-ridden country than to get involved in such petty matters as doling out jobs in the sports bodies.

The time has come once for all to do away with this unsporting practice and put things in the right perspective by appointing a committee of highly committed persons with a cricketing background to frame a new constitution for the PCB so that democratically elected representatives should manage the country’s most popular sport.

Besides it should be made mandatory that the PCB chief is an elected official for a full-term of four years, as is the practice in other countries. Whether such a new set up will emerge under Mr. Khan’s leadership is anybody’s guess.

Two factors played a key role in the fall of Gen. Tauqir Zia’s empire. First, he considered himself above accountability and, secondly his he was badly served his advisers.

It is an irony that the men who played the part of villain in his ouster are clinging to their jobs and are in no mood to quit. Of course they will not leave the PCB until forcibly shown the door.

It is very difficult to predict what lies ahead of Mr. Khan in the coming months. All those who before him headed this exalted position in the end found themselves sucked in by their own follies and by the misdeeds of their cronies.

One hopes Mr. Khan will not fall in the same trap that led to Gen. Zia’s exit otherwise his tenure could well be much shorter, because he is a retired diplomat and not a general.