Pakistan: High Court issues stay order against PCB chairman elections

Lahore: The Balochistan High Court has issued a stay order on the elections for the new Pakistan Cricket Board chairman till July 17, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

The Court was hearing a case that claimed that the governing board of the PCB was formed in violation of the 2014 constitution. The Court did not hear the PCB's arguments and issued notices to all stakeholders to attend the next session.

A number of writ applications were filed in several Pakistani courts on Monday morning, 24 hours before the election that might have resulted in Zaka Ashraf becoming PCB chairman, to suspend the entire process. At least three petitions have been accepted by the Lahore High Court, which combined them into one hearing and continued them till Tuesday.

Ten people make up the board of the PCB: two members selected by the Prime Minister, four regional representatives, four service representatives, and four regional representatives. These participants would then vote to elect the new chairman. The chairman of the PCB Board of Governors is chosen by the Prime Minister and serves a three-year tenure. Ashraf was the clear favourite.

Najam Sethi was the last PCB chairman, but he was a temporary appointment.

Earlier, Zaka Ashraf in a media interaction had rejected the hybrid model concept for the 2023 Asia Cup.

"In my personal opinion, this whole hybrid model isn't beneficial for Pakistan and I didn't like it. Being a host, Pakistan should have negotiated better to make sure that the entire tournament should have played in Pakistan. Sri Lanka taking the bigger lot of games, leaving Pakistan with only four games, isn't in the best interest of our country," ESPNcricinfo quoted Ashraf as saying on June 22.

The 2023 Men's Asia Cup was originally meant to be held in Pakistan, but after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that India would not travel there, Sethi offered the hybrid concept, which was later agreed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

According to the model, four, possibly five, of the tournament's thirteen games will be played in Pakistan. The remaining games, including all India-Pakistan matches and the final if India qualifies, will be played in Sri Lanka.
(ANI)