April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

LAHORE, April 14: Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, heading the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Appellate Tribunal for hearing Shoaib Akhtar’s appeal against a five-year ban, has expressed his annoyance over the lethargic approach of the PCB regarding the necessary case procedures.

In a strong-worded letter to the private secretary of Chairman PCB, Dr Nasim Ashraf on Monday, Justic Aftab wrote: “Perhaps your staff may not be aware or conscious of their conduct in judicial/quasi judicial proceedings. They will be well advised to maintain their attitude as reserve and formal while giving the appellant tribunal the due dignity and respect. During the pendency of appeal, any uncalled for sharing of pleasantries in public eye gives the impression of ‘VIP Culture in thana’, different from that given to common man, and such an impression is not in consonance with judicial proceedings.”

He further added: “The delay in communication of impugned judgment to Shoaib Akhtar, and in the official communication of my responsibility smacks of red tape culture in your office, which has delayed proceedings further in the matter which is against my professional approach of working in the discharge of my professional duties.”

“I have therefore fixed the date (April 17, for the first meeting of the tribunal) for enabling the appellant more than ample time for the preparation.”

Shoaib was reprimanded on April 1 by the PCB disciplinary committee, headed by Lt Col Muneer Hafeez, for breaching the players’ Code of Conduct and was subsequently banned from playing for Pakistan by the PCB for five years. On April 4, Shoaib submitted an appeal to the PCB chairman against the ban.

According to the proceedings, the Appelate Tribunal as well as Shoaib’s lawyers should have received the detailed judgment of the disciplinary committee within a few days of the ban verdict. However, the same could not be passed on till Sunday by the PCB administration despite the passage of nine days.

It has been learnt through reliable sources that after receiving the letter of Justice Aftab on Monday morning, the PCB immediately handed over the detailed judgment to Shoaib’s lawyer during afternoon. “We received the detailed judgment today, but we have no intimation about the April 17’s meeting of the tribunal,” Shoaib’s lawyer Balal Mintoo told Dawn.

No PCB official was available to make any comment on the letter.

Moreover, Justice Aftab also made four queries with the PCB which are as follows:

“I would like you to bring this letter to the notice of the chairman forthwith if it has been ensured that the appellant a) Shoaib Akhtar has received the judgment of the disciplinary committee, b) received the notice of the date of the hearing of this appeal as Thursday 17th of April, 2008 at 10am at the Pakistan Cricket Board offices, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, c) his advocate who filed appeal has to be intimated. I may point out that service through TCS on the given address to the appellant or his lawyer is a recognised service in our judicial system, d) that the other members of the tribunal are duly intimated.”

Haseeb Ahsan, a former crickter, and media-business tycoon Salman Taseer are the other two members of the Appellate Tribunal.