LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday appointed former bureaucrat Mansoor Qadir as election commissioner (EC) of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“Mansoor Qadir, a retired PMS Officer (BS -21), has been appointed as the Election Commissioner of the Pakistan Cricket Board. The appointment was made by the PCB Patron and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in accordance with Article 29 of the PCB Constitution 2014,” said a press release issued by the PCB on Monday.
“After assuming charge of his office, Mansoor Qadir called on Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi and apprised him of his responsibilities. Chairman PCB expressed that Mansoor would discharge his duties with commitment and integrity,” the press release added.
However, the appointment seems a violation of the PCB Constitution, as the PM picked Mansoor, who retired as a BPS-21 officer, for the position of EC whereas the constitution necessitates appointment of a BPS-22 officer.
Furthermore, the first priority for this post — as mentioned in the PCB constitution — is a retired justice of the Supreme Court or a High Court.
The Clause 29-2 of the PCB constitution says, “A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as Election Commissioner unless he is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan or a High Court, or a person, qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan or High Court or a person who has retired from government service in BS-22 or equivalent or above.”
Furthermore, the EC is an independent post but Mansoor was a choice of PCB chairman (Mohsin) as Punjab education minister during his tenure as caretaker chief minister of Punjab in 2023-24. This goes on to indicate that the independence of the EC may remain doubtful.
Moreover, Mansoor is a close relative of a renowned journalist, who is a close friend of the PCB chairman.
Meanwhile, the post of EC was filled after a considerable delay of almost 20 months.
Shah Khawer, the previous EC, who came in the PCB just to hold the election of PCB chairman on Feb 6, 2024, and then left the position.
It is to be noted that the election process in regions like Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and a few others could not be completed during the last two years for one reason or the other.
The PCB last month formed a committee for the scrutiny of clubs and another body for the survey of clubs. And now it got the EC, who is primarily responsible to monitor the entire process of the elections at district to regional level.
Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2025