ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: The Presidency on Thursday referred back to Sports Ministry a proposed constitution draft forwarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt and said the move was an attempt to bypass the constitution committee already working for the amendments under Law Minister Farooq H. Naek.

A source from the Presidency told Dawn here on Thursday: “The draft was sent by Mr Ijaz Butt some time back but since he bypassed the defined channel of Federal Sports and the law ministries already working on the issue, it [draft] has been directed to the same forum for scrutiny.”

Some stake holders, the source said, had raised concerns over the direct sending of the draft to the Presidency by the PCB chief. “Therefore, President Asif Ali Zardari, the Patron-in-Chief of the PCB, has now asked Law Minister Farooq Naek to look into the draft forwarded by the chairman PCB.

“The constitutional committee will meet on Jan 5 at the Sports Ministry and will work on the draft,” he added.

The draft received from the PCB, he said, carried some flaws including the dictatorial powers of the chairman and that raised serious concerns among the stake holders.

Last year in September, the Sports Ministry constituted a constitution committee in consultation with the Law Ministry after some cricketing circles severely criticised the vast dictatorial powers of the PCB chairman in comparison to the powerless regional cricket associations.

Farooq H. Naek, chairman of the committee, had dubbed the current PCB constitution as ‘dictatorial’ and pointed out that all the powers revolved around just one person, the board’s chairman.

“All the stake holders were consulted by the Presidency as we believe in democratic means of working of every institution,” said the source. The Presidency, he said, was well aware about all the developments going on at the PCB.

Law Minister Farooq H. Naek, Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jiliani, Sports Secretary Ashraf Khan, coordinator Razaullah Khan, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, PCB Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf, Shakil Shaikh and Mansoor Khan are the committee members who would be working on the draft, the source concluded.