In the history of cricket in this country, this indeed is a salient moment: PCB’s constitution was not just accepted by the government, which meant ceding of its powers to appoint its chairman, but has also found approval of the ICC. As a result, the Board will become independent from government interference which was manifest in the appointment of its chairman.
Though this happened because the ICC had given a deadline of June 30, 2013, yet the government of Pakistan should be given full credit in crafting and agreeing to a constitution which took its powers away – powers that it had commanded since 1949.
Only last year the ICC had directed each of its 10 full members to amend their constitution, making them conform to international democratic standards, and absolutely free of all kinds of government interference. It was not a mere suggestion, it was an instruction the ICC intended to implement, and June 30, 2013 was given as a deadline. But as all the Boards with the exception of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh already had democratic constitution and were absolutely independent of the government, it meant that ICC order was meant for the three Asian nations other than India. From among these three, Pakistan now has become the first nation to comply to the ICC’s command before the deadline. And the Pakistan government’s cooperation in this has been quite significant.
The new constitution has found the ICC’s, and recently at its Board meeting, when a copy of the constitution was presented to Mr Alan Isaac, the ICC president, by the PCB chairman Ch. Zaka Ashraf, the former praised the new constitution. “I must compliment Mr Zaka Ashraf, his team and the government of Pakistan for their efforts in producing a constitution which makes the process of electing its chairman more democratic and reduces the risk of inappropriate government interference in line with the ICC’s constitutional provisions,” said Mr Isaac.
As Mr Isaac has suggested, the PCB and the Pakistan government both deserve full credit and for producing a document that is in keeping with international standards. It must also be acknowledged that Ch. Zaka Ashraf’s liaisons with the government helped that the new constitution was drafted and approved before the expiry of the ICC’s deadline; and the government for its part must be given due credit for willingly relinquishing its hold on the PCB.
For Pakistan cricket this is a significant moment, for more democracy means more accountability, and that is likely to make our cricket improve its standard.
