The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination has strongly criticized the previous interim government’s decision to move the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under the Cabinet Division, and recommended that it be placed back under the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC).
During a meeting at the Pakistan Sports Complex, chaired by MNA Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, the committee unanimously agreed that the PCB should be governed by the IPC, as it is consistent with the management of 44 other sports federations.
Sanaullah expressed disapproval of the interim government’s action, calling it a violation of its mandate. He declared that any decisions made by the caretaker government regarding the PCB were nullified, stating that only elected representatives have the authority to make such decisions. He also emphasized that the interim government’s notification on February 19 to place the PCB under the Cabinet Division should be revoked.
The committee decided to write a letter to the Prime Minister requesting the withdrawal of the notification. Sanaullah also criticized the absence of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi from the meeting and said he should attend the next one.
In a media interaction, Sanaullah urged India to send its cricket team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy, emphasizing that politics should not interfere with sports.
In a briefing to the committee, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Yasir Pirzada highlighted the PSB’s achievements over the past five years, including the training of over 4,000 athletes, with Pakistan winning 154 international medals. He also mentioned the establishment of the Arshad Nadeem High Performance Academy and upgrades to sports infrastructure. Pirzada revealed that a new sports policy had been submitted for approval, alongside a new reward policy, under which national champions would receive Rs1 million and Paris Paralympic Games bronze medallist Haider Ali would be rewarded Rs5 million. Additionally, over Rs1 billion in grants were distributed to national sports federations, and Rs45.25 million was awarded to medal-winning athletes.
