LHC seeks Accountant General reply on PSB vs PFF

KARACHI: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered the Accountant General of Pakistan to submit his reply in the case pertaining to the writ petition filed by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) against the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) within two days.

The LHC adjourned the hearing till next Monday.

Sources told ‘The News’ that the Accountant General, one of the respondents, argued that there was no need to summon him, but the court said that there was a need to summon him as he was a respondent and that he should submit his reply within a couple of days.

The legal experts of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and the PSB were also present on the occasion.

The PFF was forced to go to the court after the PSB convened a meeting on October 1 to discuss the issue pertaining to the implementation of the national sports policy.

The court issued a standing order a couple of days before the meeting which forced the Board to postpone it.

The PFF president Faisal Saleh Hayat will also be affected if the tenure restriction clause is implemented by the government.

The PSB wants to implement the policy in the light of the Supreme Court’s May 8 verdict which says that the government has the power to frame rules and implement them.

The POA chief Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan is also to be affected by the judgement as the name of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) is clearly mentioned in the policy.

Arif says that the POA was not affiliated with the Board and so was not affected by the apex court’s verdict. But the government is of the view that after the Supreme Court judgment Arif has lost his status and is no more a POA president.

Source: The News