IPC Ministry unhappy over PCB’s direct communication with patron

ISLAMABAD: The concerned authorities in Islamabad are unhappy over Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) letter written directly to the prime minister on June 27, by-passing all the laid down protocols to seek the federal government’s clearance to participate in the World Cup.

The authorities have taken up the matter with the Board officials who were exerting all the powers at that time.

A highly-placed source has told ‘The News’ that the letter written by Salman Naseer, Chief Operating Officer (COO) PCB directly to the prime minister was a breach of laid down norms by itself. The normal procedure was not adopted where a subordinate department moves through the concerned ministry to seek permission or to update the highest authority on the matter where his permission is required. The concerned ministry then moves a summary for the prime minister’s decision.

‘The News’ has learnt that the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) was not happy with PCB’s attitude and has taken up the matter in strong words with the PCB authorities.

The letter directly written to the PM by Salman Naseer, (the copy which is available with The News), says that “when the ICC shared the draft schedule for PCB's feedback, we advised them as follows: “We are in the process of seeking feedback from all the relevant stakeholders and entities in this regard. As Pakistan matches are scheduled to be played in India, the PCB will need various government’s approvals in respect of security and related matters. We will also be apprising and seeking the Patron i.e. the prime minister’s position on the matter.

The chairman is awaiting confirmation of his appointment with the Patron. Therefore, we will require more time to provide our comments.”

In the event, the government provides clearance to participate in the World Cup and sought advice in relation to the venues for the Pakistan team’s scheduled matches. The venues on which Pakistan is to play include Ahmadabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

The letter further says: “In the past when an ICC event was held in India, the government of Pakistan had sent a security recce team to the relevant venues in India to evaluate whether the same were cleared from a security point of view to host Pakistan team matches. We understand that if such an exercise is carried out again, it will require time, and hence, this request is being made at the time when the ICC has officially announced the schedule for the 2023 CWC,” the letter addressed by the PCB COO directly to the prime minister says.

It has been learnt that Salman Nasser was communicated about the misadventure which according to the source will have far-reaching future complications.

“We have taken up the matter with the PCB COO and have conveyed our displeasure. The government rules clearly bar officials from making any direct communications with the Prime Minister. They are a set procedure that was not adopted in this instance. We have communicated our displeasure and will look into what we can do more to this effect,” a leading Ministry official said.

It is worth mentioning here that former Election Commissioner Ahmed Shahzad Farooq Rana was heading the PCB on June 27 following the expiry of the Temporary Management Committee.