LAHORE: Former chief operating officer of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shafqat Naghmi is likely to rejoin the cricket board in capacity of Chief Strategy Implementation Officer which is a new post that has been created.

Naghmi is a former bureaucrat and served as COO in the PCB during Dr Nasim Ashraf’s tenure from 2006-08. But when former Test player Ijaz Butt was appointed as PCB chairman in 2008-09, Naghmi resigned from the Board to rejoin the federal government as secretary.

Naghmi, an all powerful COO during his tenure, came under spotlight when he removed the name of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal from the Pakistan squad selected by then chief selector Salahuddin Sallu for a four-nation-nation tournament which was held in Canada in 2008. Naghmi was accused of favouritism when he allegedly used his influence to get little-known opener Shoaib Khan from Quetta included in the team in place of Ajmal.

Meanwhile, the post of Chief Strategy Implementation Officer has reportedly been created to handle the matters concerning the government departments, especially the matter of lease documents for keeping the Board’s control over eight stadia across the country and of getting tax exemption from the government on PCB’s income.

It may be mentioned here that according to a PCB document, it enjoyed control over the eight stadia across the country and was spending Rs 227.6 million on their maintenance annually. However, the lease documents of most of these stadia have not been signed as yet. Among them are Gadaffi Stadium (expenditure Rs 104.2 million), National Stadium, Karachi (Rs 54.1 million), Multan Cricket Stadium (Rs 20.1 million), Pindi Stadium (Rs 13.6million), Abbottabad Stadium (Rs 10.1 million), Bugti Stadium, Quetta (Rs 15.7 mln), Mirpur Stadium (Rs 6.3million), and Garhi Khuda Buksh Stadium (Rs 3.5million).

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Unstable outlook
Updated 28 Jan, 2025

Unstable outlook

Improving indicators can be tempting enough to act boldly to accelerate economic growth. But must the SBP do so and repeat past blunders?
‘Poor’ lawmakers
28 Jan, 2025

‘Poor’ lawmakers

WHILE the average Pakistani is expected to carry the burden of austerity as he struggles to put food on the table,...
Digital security
28 Jan, 2025

Digital security

A RECENT advisory issued by the National Telecommunication and Information Technology Security Board has caused a ...
Trumpian purge
Updated 27 Jan, 2025

Trumpian purge

For Trump and his MAGA support base, these moves are necessary to preserve what they view as the American way of life.
World Bank’s view
27 Jan, 2025

World Bank’s view

PAKISTAN is at a critical point. Inconsistent and poor economic policies of the past have had an adverse impact on...
Learning losses
27 Jan, 2025

Learning losses

WHEN thermometers in Lahore hit 48°C last May, it led to closures across the region. From Dhaka to Manila, some ...