Pakistan: Shahid Rafi in Karachi to attend cricket meeting (12 Sep 1997)

12 September 1997

Shahid Rafi in Karachi to attend cricket meeting

By Oou Sports Reporter

KARACHI, Sept 11: The former Secretary of the defunct Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), Shahid Rafi, arrived here for an official cricket meeting, thus triggering speculation about his position in the cricket setup.

Shahid Rafi, a high-ranking bureaucrat, will be attending a law and order meeting at the National Stadium on Friday morning in connection with the hosting of the second one-day international of the three-match series between Pakistan and India on Sept 30.

The meeting is also expected to be attended by Chief Secretary, Sindh, Commissioner of Karachi, and Deputy Commissioner, East, besides the top brass of the Karachi City Cricket Association.

The most intriguing part of the scenario is that Shahid Rafi holds no official post in the cricket setup. Majid Khan said late Thursday evening that Shahid Rafi was not a representative of the cricket board for Friday's meeting nor the government has informed his anything about his official position.

Shahid Rafi, it may be mentioned here that, served as BCCP's Secretary between 1991 and 1994 before the board of Chief Justice (Retd) Nasim Hasan Shah was superseded by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari on Jan 12 and a three-member ad hoc committee was imposed under Javed Burki. However, Shahid Rafi dispelled the impression that his visit here was because there was some uncertainty about the present cricket board. "It is just a coincidence that I had to come here on an official assignment and the same day a meeting on law and order was being held.

"I will be attending the meeting (on Friday) purely in an informal capacity, perhaps as an observer," he said.

Rafi stated that the Commissioner of Karachi, Mir Husain Ali, asked him to attend the meeting "because I have been a cricket as well as law and order administrator. My advice could have been useful for them because the matches against India are prestigious ones."

"I will be there just to assist and help the authorities here," he added.

Shahid Rafi, who is presently a Director General in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he has "played his innings as a cricket administrator. Under my tenure, Pakistan won the World Cup. The mega event also came to the sub-continent when I was in the office. I have no more desire to return to the cricket hierarchy.

"Majid Khan is the chief executive and I want to see him complete his tenure."

Rafi strongly brushed aside media reports that he was a coordinator/convener in the PCB. "I have been a Secretary of the board, how can I come as coordinator or convener."

The President of the KCCA, Nusrat Azeem, said on Thursday evening that he had no knowledge about Shahid Rafi's official status. "The PCB has not informed us anything regarding Shahid Rafi.

"I came to know about Shahid Rafi's appearance in the meeting through Deputy Commissioner, East," he said, adding: "On the basis of that information, I invited him for the dinner on Friday evening which will also be attended by the PCB chief Majid Khan."

Majid Khan worked under Shahid Rafi as Director, Sports, when the latter headed the Pakistan Television Corporation. During the same period, Shahid Rafi did not extend the term Majid Khan as chief selector after the 1993-94 tour of the West Indies.

LAHORE BUREAU ADDS: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executiveM ajid Khan has said that no intimation has been received about the reported appointment of Shahid Rafi.

Talking to this reporter on Thursday evening, MajidK han said that the PCB had not been informed by President Farooq Ahmad Leghari, who is also the patron of the PCB, about any fresh appointment in the board. He added that he also has not made any appointment.

Majid Khan's attention was drawn to a news item appearing in thean English daily thatthe former BCCP secretary Shahid Rafi has been appointed as a convener of the PCB. Majid Khan termed the story as `baseless'.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)