LAHORE: The tussle between members of Board of Governors (BoG) of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the PCB establishment intensified here on Tuesday when, in another significant development, the independent adjudicator of the PCB Justice (retd.) Fazal-e-Miran Chohan set aside the elections of the Turbat Cricket Association president Shah Dost as well as his election as president of the Quetta Regional Cricket Association.

The adjudicator has ordered for fresh elections, a PCB press release issued on Tuesday stated.

“Mr Justice (retired) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, a member of the independent Panel of Adjudicators, has set aside elections of President, District Cricket Association, Turbat, and President, Regional Cricket Association, Quetta, while ordering fresh elections.”

As a result of the decision, the PCB as per article 10 (2) of its constitution, announced that Shah Dost had now been de-notified as member of the PCB’s BoG.

Shah Dost’s elections as president Turbat, Quetta annulled

“The independent adjudicator’s decision came following the conclusion of multiple hearings of an appeal filed on February 13, 2019 under Article 37 of the PCB Constitution and means the election of Mr Shah Dost, first as President of the District Cricket Association, Turbat, and then his subsequent election as president of Regional Cricket Association, Quetta has been declared null and void.

“Resultantly, and as per Article 10(2) of the PCB Constitution, Mr Shah Dost has now been de-notified as a member of the PCB Board of Governors,” the PCB states.

“Mr Justice (retired) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan announced the decision after it was established that Mr Shah Dost was not eligible to contest elections of President of District Cricket Association, Turbat, held in August 2017, as he was then a government employee with Fisheries Department, Quetta.

“Mr Shah Dost’s employment with the Fisheries Department, Quetta, at the material times, was established by the evidence presented by the appellant.

In his decision, the independent adjudicator said: “Mr Shah Dost suffered from disqualification (as a Government Servant) on the date 08-08-2017, when election schedule was announced by the Deputy Election Commission and on all subsequent dates.”

It may be mentioned here that the PCB has already de-notified another BoG member Nouman Butt (Sialkot Region) and it has served show cause notices to Shah Dost and another member Kabir Khan (Fata) for being allegedly involved in sabotaging the April 17 meeting of the BoG held in Quetta by not allowing the PCB chairman to discuss the agenda as they preferred to table a resolution against the proposed changes in the domestic cricket set up and for the appointment of Wasim Khan as Managing Director PCB.

Nouman has moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against his de-notification while the PCB has also referred his case to Fazal-e-Miran Chohan and it is in progress.

Shaighan Ijaz, the lawyer of Nouman and two other BoG members Shah Dost and Kabir Khan, said the de-notification of Shah Dost was nothing but an act to victimise his client for raising a strong voice against the injustice of the PCB and what the Board wanted to do in the April 17 meeting.

He rejected the allegation on Shah Dost saying his client had tendered the resignation from his government post in July 2017 while the elections of the Turbat District Cricket Association were held in September 2017 and its schedule was issued in August.

He further pointed out that according to PCB constitution’s clause 37, such objections against the elected person must be filed within 14 days after the result of the district’s elections. Furthermore, Shaighan said as it was not necessary for any candidate contesting the elections of the region to be an elected member of any district cricket body of that region, so the de-notification of Shah Dost as member of the BoG was unconstitutional and unlawful.

Furthermore, he said Nouman’s de-notification case, the hearing of which was to be held on Tuesday in the LHC, could not be held due to non availability of PCB’s lawyer. The next date has been fixed as June 10. He said in another case related to the PCB’s decision of postponing the elections of the Gujrat District Cricket Association, due on May 6, despite the order of the Lahore High Court, a contempt of the court case has been filed and its next date is May 9.

The elections were to be held on May 6 and the LHC has disposed off the case filed by one of the contesting candidates pleading that the PCB does not want to hold the elections as per schedule. But after Law officer of Advocate General Punjab assured the elections will be held as per the schedule, the LHC disposed off the petition.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2019