Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari reiterated that PPP-backed Zaka Ashraf will become the next chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Mazari, while speaking in a local tv talk show, said Najam Sethi's mandate, being the head of the Management Committee (MC), was only to conduct free and fair elections in regions.
"Najam Sethi came to temporarily head the interim Management Committee and only had one mandate to conduct elections in the cricket regions," he said.
In December last year, PM Shehbaz Sharif, who is also PCB's patron, appointed a 14-member MC headed by Sethi to reinforce the 2014 constitution, bringing back departmental cricket.
Initially, 120 days were given to the MC to restore the 2014 constitution. However, four weeks extension was given to Sethi and the company which now ends on June 20.
Mazari said Sethi will be given no extension now. "There will be no extension for the management committee now. Zaka Ashraf would be the next PCB chairman," he reiterated.
Ashraf previously served as PCB chairman during PPP's last government. Now once again, PPP's higher leadership, as per reports, wants their candidate to become the PCB chief.
Mazari had already said that PPP's leadership asked him to send Ashraf's name for PCB chairman to PM Shehbaz.
"The ministry has already moved his [Ashraf’s] summary to the PM office for approval," he told a local publication. "We have great regard for Sethi but we’re clear who our candidate is and I held a meeting with him today to discuss cricket issues in detail," he had said.
