Pakistan: Six departments may get back PCB membership (10 May 1998)

10 May 1998

Six departments may get back PCB membership

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, May 9: Six departments are expected to get back their full membership of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when the General Body meets at Lahore on May 15.

The membership of the six departments - United Bank, Allied Bank, Habib Bank, National Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank and Pakistan International Airlines - was reduced to just playing rights two years ago.

The cricket authorities had cited PCB constitution's clause 8 (c) which says: "Service organisation or federal Institution shall not be eligible to become a full member unless it has no less than two cricket grounds in its use."

Pakistan Railways, a member from three armed services and University Grants Commission (UGC) had, nevertheless, managed to keep their membership with the PCB.

However, constitutional experts argued that the requirement of becoming full members was to have two grounds in use and not two grounds in possession, as explained by the authorities two years ago.

"The two grounds in use can be National Stadium, Karachi, and Qadhafi Stadium, Lahore," a General Body member said.

The experts said the issue couldn't be taken up before as no General Body meeting was held last year. "It is the first meeting (of the General Body) in two years and this matter will be raised," he pointed out.

The termination of the departments' full membership resulted in the reduction of the Council members from 18 (nine departments, six association and three PCB officials) to 12 (six associations, three departments and three PCB officials).

Stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim, Abdul Raqeeb, Ramiz Raja used to attend the PCB Council when their institutions were full members of the board.

The President of the Karachi Cricket Association (KCCA), Nusrat Azeem, who is the senior most PCB Councillor, expressed reservations on the issue of full members. He, however, said the Council was not consulted when the membership of the six departments was cancelled.

"After taking over the office in 1996, Majid Khan cancelled their membership and informed the Council citing the constitution. I don't know if he had consulted his legal advisors but the matter was not pressed even by the Council," Azeem said.

Azeem maintained that the membership issue was not in the agenda of the General Body meeting but admitted that it can be discussed. "The General Body can discuss any thing. It is the supreme body."

Nevertheless, Azeem felt that it would be in the interest of a democratic system if the General Body constitutes a committee to probe the cancellation of the membership of the six departments. "The committee can probe about the legalities before submitting its report for appropriate action.

"But it is purely my thinking," he emphasised.

On the election of the PCB Council, Nusrat Azeem, who is set to be re-elected by the KCCA officials, the General Body members will now recommend their own people through consensus. He said previously, the associations used to elect their own representatives and confirm their names to the PCB.

According to the domestic structure, four KCCA General Body members will have one representative in the Council while there will also be a Councillor from Sindh interior which have three General Body members. Likewise, there are two General Body members from Lahore Cricket Association from which there will be one Council member.

Other than LCCA, there are eight General Body members from Punjab out of whom two will go to the Council. Then there will be a member in the Council from NWFP and Balochistan who sit in the Council alternatively.

Presently, there is a suggestion to have permanent members from the two provinces and in this regard, an amendment is needed in the PCB constitution.

Nusrat Azeem pointed out that in case of a tie between the Councillors, a local representative of that area will vote. "If the votes were equal, then there would be a balloting."

Azeem cited the example of two Councillors from Punjab other than LCCA. "Since the representatives come from Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi etc, there is always a provision of more than two candidates vying for Council's job."

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