PFF election: Ashfaq, Qureshi to contest for presidency after top guns barred

KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) electoral process took a twist on Saturday when the nomination papers of three major candidates for the presidential slot including Syed Zahir Shah, Malik Amir Dogar and Sardar Naveed Haider were rejected.

Their nomination papers were rejected because they did not fulfill the criteria as mentioned in the PFF Constitution.

After the outcome, only two candidates including Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Anwar-ul-Haq Qureshi of Sindh will now contest for the PFF presidency. The elections will be held on December 12 at Islamabad.

The scrutiny was conducted under the supervision of Returning Officer Salim Rana.

Ashfaq is the brother-in-law of Syed Zahir Shah. Ashfaq, who is also the chairman of District Football Association (DFA) Peshawar, was PFF Congress member from 2011-2015 and from 2015 till date.

Anwar-ul-Haq Qureshi, on the other hand, belongs to Sindh and was the Congress member of PFF in the current body which is recognized by the world football governing body (FIFA).

According to sources, Malik Dogar, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA, Zahir Shah and Sardar Naveed Haider will now contest for the PFF vice-presidents seats.

Sources also revealed that the nomination papers of Irfan Niazi from Islamabad for the vice-president seat were also rejected.

The PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat has already decided to stay away of the Supreme Court-ordered elections.