The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) expressed dissatisfaction with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to directly write a letter to the Prime Minister on June 27, seeking permission for the World Cup.
According to a reliable source, the letter written by Salman Naseer, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of PCB, directly to the Prime Minister violated established norms. The standard procedure requires a subordinate department to approach the concerned ministry for permission or to provide updates to the highest authority. Subsequently, the concerned ministry submits a summary for the Prime Minister’s consideration.
According to information obtained by ‘The News,’ the IPC ministry was displeased with the attitude of the PCB and expressed its concerns strongly to the PCB authorities.
The letter written by Salman Naseer, available to ‘The News,’ stated, “When the ICC shared the draft schedule for PCB’s feedback, we informed them as follows: ‘We are currently in the process of gathering feedback from all relevant stakeholders and entities.
As Pakistan’s matches are scheduled to be played in India, the PCB will require various government approvals regarding security and related matters. We will also inform and seek guidance from the Patron, i.e., the Prime Minister, on this matter.”
The Chairman of PCB is awaiting confirmation of his appointment with the Patron, and therefore, more time is needed to provide comments, as mentioned in the letter.
In the event that the government grants clearance to participate in the World Cup, advice will be sought regarding the venues for Pakistan’s scheduled matches, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
The letter further states, “In the past, when an ICC event was held in India, the government of Pakistan sent a security reconnaissance team to evaluate whether the venues were cleared for hosting Pakistan team matches. If such an exercise is to be carried out again, it will require time. Hence, this request is being made now since the ICC has officially announced the schedule for the 2023 CWC,” as stated in the letter directly addressed by the PCB COO to the Prime Minister.
It has been reported that Salman Naseer has been informed about the consequences of this action, which, according to the source, will have significant implications in the future.
“We have expressed our displeasure to the PCB COO and conveyed that officials are prohibited from directly communicating with the Prime Minister. There is a specific procedure that should have been followed in this instance. We have expressed our dissatisfaction and will explore further actions,” stated a senior official from the Ministry.
It is important to note that former Election Commissioner Ahmed Shahzad Farooq Rana was leading the PCB on June 27 after the expiry of the Temporary Management Committee.
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