ISLAMABAD: In a notable development, the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) has decided to get the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) audited for the last six months, and has made an official contact with the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) office in this regard.

The IPC ministry through an official letter has requested the AGP office for conducting the special audit of the PCB of the last six months during which Najam Sethi headed the board’s interim Management Committee.

“The Principal Accounting Officer (POA), Secretary, Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination has desired to arrange special audit of the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the period of the tenure of said Temporary Management Committee from 22-12-2022 to 20-06-2023 including Special Audit of PSL-8,” read the IPC letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.

“It is requested that Director General Audit (Federal Govern­ment) may kindly be directed to conduct Special Audit of the PCB for the period 22-12-22 to 20-6-2023 including special audit of PSL-8 without any delay.”

It is relevant to note here that the interim Management Committee, which completed its extended period recently, failed to conduct the elections of several regions during its tenure. Now, the government wants to get Zaka Ashraf, nominated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, appointed as new PCB chairman. His election process, due to the stay orders granted recently by the Lahore High Court and the Balochistan High Court, is facing delay.

Meanwhile, a source close to the outgoing Management Committee said that the PCB, on a request of IPC Minister Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari, doled out around Rs15 million as honorarium for IPC employees and funds for the flood victims of Kashmore district, the constituency of the IPC minister.

When contacted, Ehsan said that as a reaction to his announcement for conducting the special audit of the Management Committee’s tenure, some elements were trying to scandalise the matter after the IPC Ministry decided to audit the affairs of the said committee.

When asked about the funds reportedly released by the PCB for the employees of the IPC Ministry and flood victims of his district, the minister said: “The sports wing of the IPC received honorarium by the PCB. Yes, during the Management Committee tenure, the PCB granted honorarium for employees of the sports wing of the [IPC] ministry on my request. There is no illegal thing in this. As far as funds and support for [the] flood victims are concerned, let me make it clear that it was not just the PCB, rather I requested a number of organisations to help the flood victims. If the PCB provided funds for the victims, what is wrong in it?

“Actually, to avoid special audit, such below the belt allegations are being made to avoid the special audit [of the Management Committee],” Ehsan said, adding that there were several reports of alleged wrongdoings in the PCB affairs during the IMC tenure and there was a need to get to the truth.

“The [special] audit will be conducted come what may,” the IPC minister emphasised.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2023