Pakistan Sports Board Reinstates Arshad Nadeem’s Coach

In a major development for Pakistan’s athletics setup, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has reinstated Arshad Nadeem’s renowned coach Salman Iqbal Butt, ruling that the lifetime ban imposed on him by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) carried no legal standing from the outset.

The decision comes as a decisive rebuke to the AFP’s move in October 2025, when it abruptly banned Salman Butt without a formal inquiry or due process, causing an uproar in Pakistan’s sporting community.

According to the final order, the PSB deemed that the AFP’s ban was “unconstitutional, without jurisdiction, and void ab initio,” meaning it never held any legal effect. The adjudicator directed the federation to immediately retract all adverse correspondence sent to bodies such as World Athletics and Asian Athletics, and barred the AFP from issuing any future defamatory or prejudicial communications against Arshad Nadeem’s coach.

The ruling also exposed several procedural violations in the AFP’s handling of the matter: no charge sheet, no inquiry report, no right to a hearing, and no lawful authority to issue a lifetime penalty. The order specifically noted that such action violated fundamental protections guaranteed under Pakistan’s Constitution.

Beyond the legal breaches, the decision highlighted the real-world damage created by the ban, particularly for Pakistan’s top athlete, Arshad Nadeem. The adjudicator wrote that the AFP’s actions “disrupted high-performance preparations, created uncertainty for a leading Olympic athlete, and risked harming Pakistan’s medal prospects on the global stage.” Arshad Nadeem himself submitted a written endorsement supporting his coach and questioning the federation’s decision.

The case also touched on a separate dispute involving the Punjab Athletics Association elections, which the AFP had declared null and void. The adjudicator dismissed the AFP’s claim of authority, noting that provincial athletics matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Sports Board and Punjab Olympic Association, both of which supervised and validated the elections.

With the ban now officially nullified, the decision clears the path for Salman Iqbal Butt to resume his role in Pakistan’s elite athletics program — a development that could prove vital for Pakistan’s medal prospects on the international stage.