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Pakistan MP calls for Ijaz Butt sacking

A Pakistani MP has called for the sacking of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, calling him "physically unfit" and questioning his handling of the aftermath of the Lahore attack

Cricinfo staff
09-Jan-2010
Jamshed Dasti said Ijaz Butt was too old to be at the helm of the PCB anymore  •  Associated Press

Jamshed Dasti said Ijaz Butt was too old to be at the helm of the PCB anymore  •  Associated Press

The head of Pakistan's parliamentary committee on sports has called for the sacking of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, calling him "physically unfit" and questioning his handling of the aftermath of the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team's bus last March.
Jamshed Dasti urged Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari to dismiss the 71-year-old Butt. "He (Butt) has gone too old," Dasti said. "Mr Butt is physically unfit, he can't even walk properly, he can't even see properly." Zardari, who is also patron of the PCB, had appointed Butt in October 2008 in place of Nasim Ashraf.
"Mr. Butt has also done nothing to help in finding what went wrong when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore last year," Dasti said. Several Sri Lanka players were injured and six policemen were killed when gunmen opened fire at the visitors' team bus and security convoy last March.
In October, Dasti had also levelled match-fixing allegations and called for changes in the PCB after Pakistan crashed out of the Champions Trophy. He had called then-captain Younis Khan for a meeting seeking an explanation about the team's loss to Australia in a close league match; Younis resigned after the meeting but was later reinstated.
Pakistan's Test series loss in Australia is also a cause of concern for Dasti. He said the team manager Abdul Raqueeb, coach Intikhab Alam, PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari and Butt will be summoned in the near future to discuss the national team's performance.
"I hope by the time next meeting is convened Mr Butt will be replaced by some other responsible man as the chairman of the PCB," Dasti said.
The PCB responded by calling Dasti's remarks "unworthy for a member of parliament and not befitting to his stature." In a statement, the board said: "Such personal remarks cannot and will not do anything good for the game of cricket in Pakistan as we have already witnessed the impact of such remarks that put the career of a very refined cricketer Younis Khan in turmoil."
Butt is currently in Bangladesh for the launching ceremony of the 2011 World Cup.