KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday ordered status quo against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s disciplinary committee from holding disciplinary committee hearing against former skipper Shahid Khan Afridi for allegedly violating the code of conduct. The court issued directive to the PCB to submit explanation on June 9.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Musheer Alam and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi summoned the respondents on a constitutional petition filed by former all-rounder against sanctions imposed on him by the PCB from taking part in the professional cricketing event at abroad.Earlier, the court heard the petitioner’s counsels who pleaded to set aside the PCB’s decision to restrain the petitioner from playing county cricket through revoking his No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in England.Challenging the PCB’s decision regarding imposition of ban and taking disciplinary action, the former captain approached the court through his panel of lawyers including, Mehmood Mandiwala, Ali Zafar and Naveedul Haq against the PCB’s proceedings for his allegedly violation of code of conduct.The petitioner’s counsel termed the disciplinary actions and show-cause notices issued by the PCB as illegal, and pleaded to restrain the board to do so. Besides, the petitioner also submitted a plea for an urgent hearing of his petition which was granted by the court, on which the division bench conducted hearing on the chamber.Expressing dissatisfaction on the members of the PCB’s disciplinary committee, the petition submitted that the committee had been formed with mala fide intention. The disciplinary committee was due to meet on Wednesday to record Afridi’s statement. Afridi submitted that ban on his playing cricket should be lifted. It has also been stated that Afridi would not appear before the disciplinary committee till the disposal of the petition.
The petitioner submitted that PCB had summoned him to appear before a three-man disciplinary committee for breaching its code of conduct. The court, after hearing the preliminary arguments, stopped the country’s cricket governing body from holding disciplinary committee meeting against the petitioner and summoned the representatives of the cricket board in the next hearing.Chairman PCB and federal sport secretary were cited as respondents in the petition. The petitioner pleaded that the PCB’s decision regarding imposing of ban on him and revoking his no-objection certificate (NOC) be nullified, and restrain the board from taking other disciplinary actions. – Nation
