LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has dismissed the petition of the court-elected Pakistan Football Federation president Syed Ashfaq Hussain which was filed against an order of the Civil Court, ordering him not to use the bank accounts of the country’s football governing body.

Against the Civil Court’s decision, Ashfaq went to the Lahore High Court, but he did not pursue it as Justice Anwaarul Haq Pannuu

in his short order said:”Repeated calls, neither the petitioner nor his learned counsel, despite his name reflects in cause-list has entered appearance, even there is no intimation for such absence. Dismissed for non-prosecution.”

A similar appeal had also been rejected by the Supreme Court and the latest decision is hoped to bring an end to the the long-running saga regarding the control of the PFF.

Ashfaq and his group of officials, who came into power through an election held by the Supreme Court in December 2018, had seized the PFF headquarters from the FIFA-appointed PFF Normalisation Commit­tee in March last year, prompting Pakistan’s suspension from the world’s football governing body.

The Haroon Malik-led NC has since regained the PFF headquarters thanks to support from the previous government but FIFA will only lift the ban after the NC has regained control of the accounts.

The NC had given the previous government an eight-month roadmap to hold fresh elections of the PFF once all conditions are met and the FIFA ban is lifted.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2022