Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has come under scrutiny for imposing a ban on the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) officials, a move that appears to lack constitutional backing.
PSB Constitution of 2022, which currently governs the Board’s operations, does not grant the authority to either the Board or the Ministry for Interprovincial Coordination (IPC) to ban sports federations or their officials for not meeting governmental expectations.
An investigation into the PSB‘s 2022 constitution reveals no provision that empowers the Board or its Director General to enforce such bans.
This raises questions about the legality of the recent sanctions against PBF President Mohammad Khalid Mehmood and Secretary Lt Col (r) Nasir Tung.
The PSB’s website recently published a handout announcing the ban, yet failed to cite any constitutional clause justifying this action.
Efforts to obtain clarification from PSB Director General Yasir Peerzada and Deputy Director General Shahid Islam have been met with silence.
Despite repeated inquiries over the weekend, no response was provided regarding the constitutional basis for the ban on the boxing federation.
Moreover, the PSB committee’s decision-making process has been criticized for not allowing the affected parties to present their case.
This oversight is particularly significant in light of the situation involving Zohaib Rasheed, a Navy boxer and Asian Boxing Championship bronze medalist, who skipped an Olympic qualifying event midway in Italy.
Rasheed, who held a blue passport, had obtained the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) from his department, highlighting procedural lapses in the committee’s recommendations.