Constitution to be implemented next month

Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, also the chief patron of the Pakistan board, has approved the new constitution and will be implemented next month, according to Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB.

"The new constitution will be implemented by next month. A governing board of 15 members would be constituted involving all the stakeholders in Pakistan cricket to oversee board affairs," he said after new charter had been agreed upon by the Ministry of Sports after receiving prior approval from the Law Ministry.

Pakistan cricket has been run by ad-hoc bodies since 1999, which allows the patron to appoint a chairman of the board rather than through an election process. According to some, the lack of democracy in the board was the root cause of the problems that exist on the domestic circuit and within the national side.

Ashraf had promised the implementation of the new constitution since he was appointed chairman last year. He has, however, blamed the slow progress on the law and order situation in the country and said that the Law Ministry had more important issues on hand.

The approval will allow Pakistan cricket to be "run in a democratic way" with all regions given representation in the new set-up while two former cricketers will also serve in the governing body.

According to Ashraf, Musharraf would still continue to directly appoint the chairman, whose powers are curtailed in the new constitution with the formation of the governing board.