PSB DG Ganjera suspended

KARACHI: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) received a major blow on Wednesday when its Director General Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera was suspended for charges which have not been disclosed.

Highly credible sources told ‘The News’ that the Establishment Division had conveyed the order of the Prime Minister’s secretariat about the suspension of the PSB boss to the ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and the ministry had passed on the order to Ganjera who is due to retire in March next year.

A source said that the suspension came in the light of a report submitted by the head of the Prime Minister’s task force for sports. Ijaz Gul, very close to the PM, is the head of the task force which has been formed for developing some indigenous sports disciplines.

The source said that Ganjera had been suspended for three months and an immediate inquiry had been ordered.

However, the source added, the two letters do not say anything about what mistake(s) Ganjera made.

‘The News’ also learnt that the suspension order has upset the federal minister for IPC Riaz Hussain Pirzada, who is a strong supporter of Ganjera.

A source said that Pirzada was trying to meet the PM and if his meeting was arranged the decision could be reversed.

There was no statement about who would be given the charge in place of Ganjera.

“It is not yet clear who will be made acting Director General,” the PSB source said.

This is the second time that Ganjera has been suspended. He had been suspended a couple of years ago for corruption charges by the Lahore High Court (LHC). He went for an intra-court appeal and the double bench endorsed the single bench decision.

Ganjera then went to Supreme Court which suspended LHC’s orders and he was restored.

Ganjera’s suspension at this stage will affect PSB’s activities. The PSB is going to hold the second edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games from May 5-8 in Islamabad and the Board has to send around 200-member national contingent to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the fourth edition of the Islamic Games, to be held from May 12-22.