Ashfaq, Qureshi in run for PFF top slot

KARACHI: The elections of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) will be held at the Supreme Court building in Islamabad on Wednesday (today).

Ashfaq Hussain Shah and Anwar-ul-Haq Qureshi are contesting for the PFF presidency. Amir Salim Rana, the Director General of the Supreme Court human rights wing, will conduct the elections.

Three big guns, Malik Amir Dogar, Sardar Naveed Haider and Syed Zahir Shah, were put out of the race when their nomination papers were rejected the other day.Ashfaq is the brother-in-law of Syed Zahir Shah, a former health minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ashfaq, who is also the chairman of District Football Association (DFA) Peshawar, has been PFF Congress member since 2011.

Qureshi, from Sindh, is the Congress member of the PFF current body which is recognized by the world football governing body (FIFA).Ashfaq, who is brother-in-law of former PFF Director Clubs and Projects Col Farasat Ali, is widely expected to win the coveted slot. He enjoys the support of Malik Dogar, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA from Multan and a former PFF Congress member, Naveed Haider, President of Punjab Football Association (PFA), as well as Zahir Shah.

Islamabad Football Association (IFA) chief Chaudhry Mohammad Salim and Pakistan Football Referees Association (PFRA) also support Ashfaq.On Tuesday Dogar, Zahir, Naveed and Salim held a joint press conference in Islamabad and pledged to work together in elections.

Dogar said there was no intervention from the government. “If there had been any interference from the government, our nomination papers would not have been rejected,” he added.Qureshi, from Sindh, is expected to get the support of FIFA-recognised PFF. The PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat has stayed away from the elections because according to him he was bound to follow the rules and regulations of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Dogar, Zahir, Naveed and Jan Mohammad Marri (Balochistan) will compete for the three vice-presidents seats.

Those contesting for the eight Executive Committee seats are Ashraf Khan (Punjab), Rizwan Ali (Punjab), Zia-ur-Rehman (Punjab), Abdul Nasir Baloch (Sindh), Jamil Ahmed (Sindh), Mohammad Nouman (KP), Saad Rasool (KP), Zulfiqar Ahmed (KP), Azizullah (Balochistan), Dost Mohammad Khan (Balochistan) and Najeebullah (Balochistan).

Before the elections of the PFF, three women members will be elected. As many as eight women will be in the run for three seats: Farzana Rauf, Fauzia Noureen, Javeria Zafar, Nadia Naqvi, Sadia Sheikh, Tasawar Aziz, Zainab Ali and Kanwal Shozab.

Provinces have three votes each. Islamabad, PFRA, WAPDA, Railways, Army, Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Navy, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Police, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and women national champions club (Army) have one vote each.