Supreme Court reinstates Sethi as PCB chief

KARACHI: Najam Sethi has once again been reinstated as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the Supreme Court (SC) declared null and void the notification issued by the government on Monday which removed Sethi from his post. The SC also set aside the appointment of Justice (R) Jamshed Ali Shah, who was given the task to conduct fresh elections to appoint a new chief of the PCB, as the acting chairman of the board for 30 days. According to a statement issued by the court, the new Constitution drafted under Sethi was also illegal since his appointment was being challenged in court. The court also declared the process to hold fresh elections as invalid. Sethi was removed from his post on Thursday and was to serve as a member of the PCB's Board of Governors until fresh elections to appoint a new chief were held. The removal from his office, thus made him eligible to contest in the elections. A two-member bench, comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, heard the case regarding the restoration of Zaka Ashraf as PCB head and said that the government's a notification was akin to challenging the court’s authority. Speaking to the media after the court's order, Sethi said, "I've told the honourable court that I have no desire to hold onto the post but would like to complete the tasks handed to me. The court heard my side and has allowed me to continue in my role until the matter in finally settled."