LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has served a legal notice on his successor Ehsan Mani for giving wrong figures in different accounts in a recently uploaded chart on the PCB website, which refers to the expenses and benefits of the ex-PCB chairmen, and has asked him to tender an apology or face a defamation case.

The legal notice is served under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002 and it is addressed directly to Mani.

It may be mentioned here that Sethi has acted as chairman of the PCB executive committee from 2014 to 2017 while he could act as PCB chairman only for one year 2017-18, before he tendered his resignation as a result of the change of government after the 2018 general elections.

Interestingly, the amount which Sethi took as chairman of executive committee is also included under the head titled “Chairman PCB’s Expense and Benefits 2014-2018”.

More surprisingly, in that report available on PCB website, ex-chairman Shaharyar Khan’s benefits are only mentioned for one year (2016-17) while in fact he served as the Board chief for three years - his tenure spanning 2014-17.

In the notice served on Mani, Sethi’s lawyer has also alleged that the PCB has done it at the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been Sethi’s fierce critic since 2013.

The legal notice states:

“1. The website of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been recently updated to include a chart titled “Chairman PCB Expense & Benefits 2014-2018.” The table itself purports to itemize certain expenses and payments in relation to:

a. Mr. Sethi for the period 2014-2017 (as Chairman of the Executive Committee);

b. Mr. Shaharyar Khan for the period 2016-2017 (as the Chairman PCB);

c. Mr. Sethi for the period 2017-2018 (and also Aug-Sep 2018) as the Chairman PCB.

1. The Chart is incorrect, misleading, grossly exaggerated and deliberately calculated to hurt Mr. Sethi’s reputation and to lower the esteem in which he is held by the general public. More specifically:

a. A number of the figures noted in the Chart are incorrect

i. The Chart states that Mr. Sethi received an amount of Rs. 1,41,81570 as ‘PSL Allowance’. This is incorrect. No amount has ever been paid to Mr. Sethi as PSL Allowance.

ii. The Chart states that no amount has been paid to Mr. Ehsan Mani as Accommodation Allowance. This is deliberately misleading. Mr. Ehsan Mani is currently being provided a furnished apartment by the PCB in lieu of his Accommodation Allowance.

b. The Chart mentions a number of expenses and payments such as utility payments, the PSL Allowance and Accommodation Allowance. It does not state that every single one of these allowances/payments were duly authorized and approved by the PCB’s Board of Governors. It also does not mention that the accounts of PCB were audited by two external auditors, namely Deloittes as well as Ernst and Young who did not raise any objections

c. The Accommodation Allow­ance of the Chairman is duly authorized by the rules of the PCB and is available to every single Chairman, no matter who he may be. The Chart deliberately suppresses that fact and accordingly defamatory

d. The Chart is titled ‘Chairman PCB Expense & Benefits’. However, the majority of the amounts noted therein pertain to a period (2014 - 2017) when Mr. Sethi was not the Chairman PCB.

i. If the Chart was intended to highlight the amounts paid to the Chairmen of PCB, then it should have referred to the entire period of Mr. Shaharyar Khan as Chairman PCB (i.e. 2014-2017) rather than only one year of his tenure (i.e. 2016 -17).

If the Chart was Intended to note the allowances paid to members of the Executive Committee, then it should have provided those figures for all members. However, the Chart makes no mention of the payments, increments and allowances paid to Chief Financial Officer Badar Manzur and Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed, both of whom were full-fledged members of the Executive Committee.

Even otherwise, it may be noted that while the website of the PCB makes reference to ‘BOG Members Expense & Benefits’, no information has actually been provided. This information has been deliberately withheld to hide the fact that about 20 other PCB Directors, GMs and other employees received special salary increments and PSI Allowances.

ii. The Chart makes no mention of the following facts:

• In 2017, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sport recommended that Mr. Sethi be given appropriate allowance for his successful staging of PSL;

• His PSL allowance was duly approved by the PCB Board of Governors for the period 2015-2018;

• Notwithstanding the approval of the PSI. Allowance, Mr. Sethi has never been paid even one rupee as PSI. Allowance.

1. Mr. Sethi is South Asia’s most decorated independent journalist and has been repeatedly recognized for his efforts to establish a free media in Pakistan. He is a recipient of the Hilal e lmtiaz for public service (Pakistan’s highest civil award) and his program “Aapas ki Baat (2011-2011) was the top rated independent political talk show of Pakistan. While serving with the PCB, he was responsible not only for establishing the Pakistan Super League but also for bringing international cricket to Pakistan.

4 As detailed above, the Chart is deliberately misleading and defamatory It presents incorrect figures. withholds relevant information and deliberately avoids noting that all payments in question were authorized by PCB’s Board of Governors under the relevant rules The Chart is therefore defamatory.

5 There is no valid business reason for the release of such incorrect and misleading information. Instead, the publication of the Chart is clearly intended solely to malign Mr. Sethi, presumably at the behest of Mr Imran Khan. It is unfortunate beyond measure that you are complicit in the abuse of the PCB for mala fide political purposes. You and the PCB are, therefore, called upon to apologise to Mr. Sethi and to withdraw the Chart. If you fail to do so, we have been instructed to commence appropriate proceedings under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002. Please note that such proceedings will be at your risk and cost.”

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2018