Butt has Govt support to act against Afridi

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board has privately got support from the corridors of power to proceed with their disciplinary action against Shahid Afrididespite the issue slowly being politicized with the growing involvement of politicians and government functionaries.

The disgruntled Afridi has also appealed to the chief patron of the board, President Asif Zardari to intervene in cricket matters and take out time for cricket.

He has appealed to the President to save Pakistan cricket from further damage from the present board headed by Ijaz Butt. But well-informed sources told PTI that Ijaz Butt had spoken to those who matter in Islamabad and they had told him he should proceed according to the book against Afridi.

“Butt has got tacit support to do whatever he feels is right at the moment in the Afridi case,” one source said.

He, however, conceded that the sports minister Engineer Shaukatullah, who hails from the tribal areas, was working behind the scenes in support of Afridi and trying to move the corridors of power to remove Butt as the board Chairman.

“Shaukatullah has quietly told the media that the Prime Minister and President have asked him to submit reports on the row between Afridi and the board,” the source said.

The source said even the PCB was aware of the fact that Afridi, perhaps more than any other cricketer, commanded lot of popularity and fan following among the masses.

“The board is expecting more backlash in the coming days from different quarters but they are firm that they are doing everything according to the rules and regulations governing the players central contracts.”

The source said the board privately itself didn’t want to worsen the situation with Afridi but the all-rounder had left them little choice but to take action against him.

“On Wednesday, he sent an e-mail asking the board to allow him to play for Hampshire and the same day he goes on a channel and again uses some very strong language against the board. What does he want?” a source in the board said.

He made it clear the board was left with no alternative other than to revoke the NOCs issued to Afridi to play in England and Sri Lanka after they learnt of Afridi’s absence from the Ireland series and his retirement through the media, which was unacceptable.

“Even if he had simply announced his retirement it would have been fine but the way he has been attacking the board, its officials, selectors and the team management in the media using non parliamentary language, he has left no option but to go by the book now,” the source said.

He said that after all that Afridi had said the board had no option but to take some action against and get him to apologize or it would set an unhealthy precedent for other players.

Baba Ramdev’s fast looms over government

New Delhi:  With Baba Ramdev insisting that his hunger strike against corruption will begin as scheduled on Saturday, the government has decided to change its strategy. The new guidelines for senior ministers who are in touch with the yoga icon dictate that while talks will continue, they will be held on the government’s terms. That decision came after a meeting of the Congress core committee in Delhi this evening.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal has said he will meet Baba Ramdev tomorrow and the talks will continue. “As politicians we have to meet people. This shouldn’t be seen as weakness. If the government is serious and Ramdev is serious, there should be no problem in resolving the issue,” he said.

The Government’s tougher stand – at least on paper – hopes to undo some of the damage done after four senior ministers including Pranab Mukherjee greeted Mr Ramdev at the Delhi Airport yesterday. It seemed to be an embarrassing attempt at appeasement, one that did not go down well with the Congress party.

The ministers spent more than two hours with the yoga icon at the airport lounge, reassuring him that the government is serious about tackling corruption with a series of measures including a tough new Lokpal Bill (Citizen’s Ombudsman Bill) which is scheduled to be presented in Parliament by the end of this month.
That bill is being drafted by a committee that couples five ministers with five representatives of civil society led by veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare. Earlier this year, it was Mr Hazare’s hunger strike that served as a call to action for middle class India which organized a series of protests across the country, demanding that the government end decades of lethargy to introduce a Lokpal Bill that will combat corruption within the government and bureaucrats.

Mr Ramdev’s critics say that his fast against corruption is a concerted effort to upstage Mr Hazare – an argument that was bolstered when the Baba contradicted Mr Hazare to state that the Prime Minister and senior judges should not be covered by the Lokpal Bill. Today, however, Mr Ramdev said that he had suggested only that this point be debated.

In Pune, Mr Hazare said he will join the Baba’s fast at Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan, where thousands of people are expected to show up starting Saturday. He also said the posse of four ministers that met Mr Ramdev at the airport are not to be trusted because the government is set on diluting the Lokpal Bill. (Watch: Hazare warns Ramdev against govt)

“They will trap Ramdev also. They will cheat him. What is the need for so many people to go? It was ok for one or two to go,” the Gandhian said.

The government stands to benefit greatly if Mr Ramdev emerges as a parallel power centre in civil society. Mr Hazare’s determination to have non-government representatives involved with the drafting of the Lokpal Bill set a new precedent for India – one that the government tried to fight and has described as dangerous.

But given the overwhelming public support that Mr Hazare received, the government is keen to avoid yet another confrontation with civil society activists. There’s also the added concern that the Baba could ally more closely with the Opposition BJP, which has been targeting the government for being tolerant of corruption.

Government sources say that’s why the four ministers were seen at the airport yesterday.  It was upto Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh to indicate that perhaps the government was making too much of the Baba by taking him seriously as a crusader of the people.  “Baba Ramdev is not a guru, he’s a businessman. If Congress were scared of him, it would have put Ramdev behind bars. Ramdev is more of a businessman now. He charges Rs. 50,000 for teaching yoga,” he said.

“He was told to wait till the board got the full tour reports and met with the team officials to sort out his grievances with the team management but after Pakistan won the series in Ireland he just went berserk with his comments,” the source said.

He said the board was now even prepared to fight a legal battle with Afridi if he wanted.

“The e-mail he has sent to the board, its language indicates it has been prepared by a legal person. But if he wants to hire a lawyer he is welcome to do so.”

But while the board says it is firm in dealing with player power, which it sees now in the shape of the defiance being shown by Afridi, political pressure is increasing on it to resolve the issue quickly.

“They are politicians who are not aware of what is happening in the background,” one source said.

Interior minister, Rehman Malik on Thursday said he would like to see the row between Afridi and board resolved soon and he would try to get him to reverse his retirement decision and back in the team. “I am a big fan of his,” said Malik.

Even the tribal elders of the Afridi clan have held a press conference demanding Afridi being given justice.

Another source in the board said that they felt let down by Afridi given the support he had got from Butt on many fronts.

“Apart from the issues that are public there are many things about him that the board choose not to make public because of its repercussions on Pakistan cricket. He should have shown more patience.”

But a source close to Afridi said that the board ignore that he had also learnt about his being sacked as captain through the media.

“He is hurt because while he accepts the board Chairman has supported him but feels this gives Butt no right to ride roughshod over senior players and treat them unjustly.

“Even if Butt wanted to remove him as captain he should have had the decency to speak to Afridi about it as he had done a lot of hardwork with the team that was being undermined by the interference by the coach and manager and other elements.”

“Afridi is now ready to face all the consequences of his action but is confident that the power of the people will prevail and Butt will be forced to back down,” the source said.