ISLAMABAD - Najam Sethi is no more Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chairman as it is clear from the written judgment of a Division Bench (DB) of Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued here on Thursday. The three-page written judgment of the DB comprising Justice Riaz Ahmad and Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi has cleared the ambiguity related to the slot of the PCB chairman.
Earlier, the single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had restrained Sethi and members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) to continue their duties regarding the matters of cricket board on October 29.
Later on the same day, the DB issued notices to the respondents in the intra court appeals of former chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf, Major (R) Nadeem Suddle and Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) against the verdict of a single bench of IHC dated July 4. However, media reported this verdict of DB as stay order against the decision of single bench of IHC dated October 29 and Sethi also tweeted that he was still chairman PCB because of this stay order.
Now, the written judgment of DB issued on Thursday has cleared the ambiguity. The verdict does not mention any stay order except issuing notices to the respondents. There is also no mention of decision of Justice Siddiqui dated October 29. In the ICA, former chairman Zaka Ashraf was also allowed to become a party in the case while the court will take up the matter again on November 4. It is also pertinent to mention here that a single bench of IHC will also conduct hearing of petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against Sethi on Friday (today). Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui will hear the contempt of court petition moved by one Ahmad Nawaz through his lawyer Abdul Razzaq Rajab.