Sethi reinstated as PCB chairman by Supreme Court

A day after he was removed as chairman of the PCB, Najam Sethi was reinstated to the post by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The apex court has struck down all decisions taken on Thursday by the government of Pakistan, which had included removing Sethi as chairman and appointing retired judge Jamshed Ali Shah in his place in an interim role. According to the latest ruling, the PCB will revert to the status quo as of Wednesday. The next hearing is fixed for July 21, 2014.

In the new constitution announced on Thursday, Sethi was one of the men nominated for a position on the new PCB board of governors. He confirmed in a tweet that he had been nominated by the Prime Minister for this board and that he was eligible to contest the elections for the post of chairman. However, during the Supreme Court hearing on Thursday, the judges expressed concern over the presence of Sethi on the governing board and had asked the government to "reconsider" the nomination. On Friday, the government did not reconsider his nomination and hence the court decided to revert to the status quo and reinstate him.

When Shah, a former Supreme Court judge, was named interim chairman on Thursday by the government, he said his basic responsibility was to conduct the elections and implement the new constitution within 30 days. Till Wednesday, Sethi was running the PCB in a provisional capacity with the help of the PCB's five-man management committee, directly appointed by the chief Patron who is the Prime Minister of Pakistan. His major task was to make a new and democratic constitution, which prescribes that the chairman be elected democratically, rather than a direct dictatorial appointment.

Shah was the third person in the last seven months to take over the chairmanship, with Zaka Ashraf in the mix. He was expected to take on the role for a month, but his stint had lasted just a day, following Friday's twist.