The Islamabad High Court (IHC) judgement ordering fresh elections for the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by October 18 this year has overruled all the major decisions taken by acting chairman Najam Sethi till now.
According to the Daily Times, the 30-page judgement has asked for changes in the structure of the PCB, questioned the appointment of the selection committee, as well as its financial and recruitment affairs.
Although the judgement will not affect the Pakistan team currently in the West Indies for a limited-overs series, the report however, said that it cancelled the appointment of Moin Khan as the chairman of selectors, which was one of Sethi's major decisions.
The report further said that the judgement will affect PCB's daily affairs, as well as its budget this year, selection of its under-23 teams and that of the national team's Zimbabwe tour and the renewal of the broadcaster deal, adding that the PCB, in general, has been seized and will remain so till the newly elected chairman takes office.
However, the PCB responded by saying that it will contemplate appealing the judgement, with its legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi saying that the board has not yet received the official copy of the judgement, adding that the decision may have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan cricket as it has the potential of being misinterpreted.
According to Rizvi, some of the findings in the judgement were neither argued nor raised in the pleading of the parties, for which the PCB needed to appeal against the order of the IHC.
Declaring Sethi as a 'caretaker chairman, the IHC said that any decision taken by Sethi will be null and void as the legalities of the caretaker position does not allow such action, and under the court decision, Sethi will monitor the day-to-day functions of the PCB till a new chairman is elected under the supervision of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
According to the report, this development comes in the wake of Transparency International Pakistan 's (TIP) terming Sethi's appointment as contrary to PCB's constitution, and amateur cricketer Abdullah Tahir petition against his appointment in the IHC.
