Pakistan cricket going through the worst of times
By Dr Nauman Niaz
As Charles Dickens had started 'Tale of the Two Cities', if we pick few of his lines, they seem synonym with the present Pakistani game. 'the worst of times', 'the age of foolishness', 'the epoch of incredulity', 'the season of Darkness', 'the winter of Despair'Ö'we had everything before, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way'.

The PCB by law must be one of the following; A Public Limited Company, A Private Limited Company, a Government Body or an Autonomous Government Institution. In any case it is subject to Audit by the law of the land. That the Audit should be public is again a legal requirement unless so exempted by the Government. The Auditor General of Pakistan carried out a Special Audit and produced a Report. This has been the subject of many articles in the press and in television. The PCB amazingly has not provided the public any satisfactory comment on this. Why is public disclosure being avoided by current management? Could the reason be that the present Chairman was part of the financial dealings of the PCB by virtue of being on the Finance Committee during that period?

This article is intended to provide the readers the stated objectives of the Audit, its findings as laid down by the Audit Committee in its draft report and opinions of people who have been privy to this document.

The four objectives of the Report were to determine; the revenue and its proper recording and accounting, whether expenditure was incurred according to principles of financial propriety, rules and procedures, whether management of assets and receivables was transparent and in the best interest of the Board and whether PCB followed principles of merit and transparency in recruitment and compensation of employees as per the rules.

Provided below for the readers own judgment are the observations of the Audit:

* The Chairman exercised his powers unconstitutionally.

* The functions and powers of the Chairman were not defined by the Patron as required by the PCB new Constitution 2007 under section 5(2).

* The new constitution is silent about instructions concerning the decision making at the Governing Board meetings and powers to make rules. The previous 1995 Constitution was explicit on both matters.

* The PCB affairs were run on an ad hoc basis until 2007 when an ad hoc Committee approved standard operation procedures (SOP) to bring transparency and accountability in financial management and procurement.

* The internal controls across PCB were very weak. Deletion of Record in the accounting software constituted a major weakness in information and control.

* The Legal Department was a major drag on the PCB rather than being able to facilitate management of the legal affairs of the Board.

* Repeated requests by audit for records relating to transactions were ignored by PCB Management.

An instance was noted where TV rights were awarded without proper bidding.

* No procedures were in place to ensure fair renting of hospitality boxes.

* There was no mechanism in place for monitoring rent recovery from tenants.

* Review of transactions show that expenditure is not guided by principles of financial propriety and the PCB incurred expenditure without considering expected benefits. Review further showed instances of laxity with the SOP's and PPRA rules 2004 in procuring goods and services.

* The PCB does not have a proper asset recording/tracing system, thus information regarding assets is inaccurate and incomplete.

* The PCB has been incurring capital expenditure without feasibility studies. This increased the risk of expenditure being wasted.

* Lack of proper investment coupled with non compliance of applicable rules deprived the PCB of big profits that result from due diligence in the process.

* The PCB has been inert in recovering receivables thus increasing the risk of bad debts.

* The PCB hired people against non existent posts without due process. The PCB paid unauthorized bonuses and pensions thus increasing liabilities. Instances were noted of employees acting against their employment contracts.

My first comment is about the lack of a Constitution governing the PCB. I recall seeing on a television channel the Chairman of PCB who started the drama of making a new Constitution also declaring that the Patron had not directed him to amend or improve the document. Being at the time a serving army officer doing two very important tasks who never listed the shortcomings in the original document one cannot understand his motives. Maybe it just did not let him operate the PCB autocratically.

It is the considered view of people that in any corporate body similar observations would be considered reasonable evidence of rampant corruption.

Just three cases that were detailed in the Report can put this matter in its true perspective: The PCB maintained 57 Bank Accounts. One explanation could be that bank employees were also in senior positions in the Board and needed to increase deposits in their banks for 'goodwill'. The PCB withdrew Rs. 10 million in cash through a bearer cheque which has been accounted for as being paid to Inzamam Ul Haq as prize money and for 'expenses'.

Finally the PCB (National Stadium Karachi) was allotted 104.5 acres of land through Presidential Order No 57/1/CMLA dated 27th March, 1980. Subsequently through Indenture of Lease of Government Land dated Dec. 6th 1980; this plot of 104.5 acres inclusive of NSK land and structures was leased to BCCP, now, PCB for a period of 99 years. Today the PCB possesses ONLY 45.7 acres of that land resulting in an estimated loss of Rs. 5.88 billion. I can well appreciate why the PCB is short of funds.

Mosques, Churches, Pagodas, Temples and Synagogues are built by human beings. In fact they are symbols of man's association with the omnipotent and of their belief in the power of ultimate creator. Whenever any of these religious symbols are reduced, human feelings are so badly hurt that it sometimes results into conflicts, clashes and even wars. Sports grounds, fitness centers and courts emanate similar emotional association for the athletes that religious places have for its faithful followers.

Pakistan is a place where few sport facilities exist. Athletes who have toiled their sweat on play grounds hold great respect and emotional attachment to these places.

The Army stadium central basketball court, which was constructed in 1968-69 by the Pakistan Army and National legendry coach Abdul Wahid Qureshi, more popularly known as A.W. Qureshi in the basketball circles, holds the same feelings in my heart, because I learnt to play this fantastic game from him at this very venue. GHQ basketball court has a history to cherish. Stalwarts like Jamshed, Rashid Ali Malik, Liaqat, Sadee, Ghafoor, Naseem, Shujat, and Nawazish were produced from this court under the watchful eyes of Major Qureshi whose coaching abilities were internationally acknowledge.

He acclaimed international recognition when the United States Department of sports picked him for the 1st International basketball coach's clinic held in Kansas City in 1975 and the United State's President Mr. Gerald Ford conferred on him the distinction of 'Sports Ambassador' the same year.

Year 2009 however has so far proved unlucky for Army Basketball team. They had a close shave against the ordinary opposition of Pakistan Rangers in the semifinals of the national basketball championships and lost the final to an over-age WAPDA team with a difference of 13 points. This defeat brought an end to the uninterrupted 23 years rule of Army in the field of basketball, whose seeds were sown in the cemented basketball court of GHQ Army stadium.

The news of came to me like a shock wave and I went to call on a friend at Army Stadium Rawalpindi to find the reasons of this unassuming defeat. I knew that basketball was dead and buried in Pakistan long ago but Army was doing a great job by keeping the basketball traditions alive. After all it was Pakistan Army basketball team and not the national team that won the first ever International basketball tournament in Lahore in 1978 by defeating the formidable Saudi Arabian side in the finals, which had the services of an American professional coach, a rear commodity in those days.

I was surprised and shocked to see that the historic GHQ basketball court that hosted numerous inter services, national and international basketball matches was reduced to plain ground. I had got the answer of my query. I stood still for a while strolling down the memory lane. The nostalgic feelings took me like an autumn storm; however the train of my thoughts was soon discontinued by the shrill whistle of a security guard that forced me to return home with a heavy heart. I knew that the temple of my beloved sport, built with pain and passion by a great coach was no more there.

At the fragile age of 85 years A W. Qureshi the veteran of two Indo-Pak wars is witnessing the twilight of his life. The man who sacrificed his profession for the love of game has yet couple of more basketball courts up his sleeves. This includes the Frontier Force Regimental Centre Abbottabad basketball court, constructed in 1963 and the Para Chinar basketball court constructed in 1957, where basketball teams from South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Wana use to play the Naismith's game.

The introduction of basketball in Frontier Corps was an initiative of Major Qureshi that minimized the hostilities amongst various tribes and religious sects of the agencies and added festivity to the closed society of Kurram agency which is now riddled with bullets, missiles and artillery shells of friends and foe.

The decade of seventies witnessed the best of basketball in the country. Many international teams including China, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia visited Pakistan and played some memorable matches.

Pakistan basketball team under the coaching of Major Qureshi participated in 7th Asian Basketball Championship in Philippines (1973), 8th Asian basketball championship in Bangkok (1975), China and Malaysia international meets in 1976, 8th Asian games, Bangkok in 1978, 10th Asian basketball championship in Japan in 1979, 1st Islamic country sports in Turkey in 1980 and drew some highly encouraging results.

Pakistan basketball team won all its test matches played in Malaysia in 1976. The team won six out of nine matches during 8th Asian games of 1978 and for the first time in the history of Pakistan basketball, the team earned the final placing in 10th Asian basketball championship in Japan.

All these achievements were obtained under the unflinching resolve of one man who though small in rank was big in character. He single handedly drove the vehicle of basketball in Pakistan from the cemented court of Army stadium to the synthetic courts of Nagoya and Bangkok. He was the man who wrote the first ever rule and technical books on the game of basketball in Pakistan in Urdu and English languages and left behind a legacy of excellence in basketball that continued unabated, till he decided at his own to make a graceful exit in 1984 due to his failing health and dirty politics in the federation matters.

Army marches at its bellies and lives by its traditions. Pakistan Army has tremendous traditions to cherish. There is a long list of athletes, coaches and managers who contributed tremendously in the growth of national sports. Despite many odds including the two Indo-Pak wars the sport culture in Army had been thriving. Pakistan Army always realized the importance of sport not only for the sake of winning the coveted Quaid-e-Azam trophy at the end of national games each year, but also to promote the virtues of leadership, team work, and decision making amongst the officers and jawans of all ranks.

I am sure that the Army stadium basketball court must have been erased due to some pressing requirements which basketball lovers would digest as a bitter pill, however Army should honor its grand traditions and built a new state of the art basketball court and dedicate it to their most celebrated coach, assuring that legacies are there to last so that our next generations get an opportunity to play and enjoy this fabulous sport known for its speed, agility and breathless maneuvers.

Pakistan Army at the moment is fighting the battle of survival of Pakistan and it is indeed the most urgent assignment at hands. Mike Krzyzewski the famous Duke and US Military Academy West Point basketball coach once said that 'you can't learn to win in battle field if you don't learn to win in the sport ground.' I am sure that all concern would take necessary measures to stop the land sliding in sports standards, thus ensuring, that the obituary of the court does not become the obituary of basketball in Pakistan.