Salim Altaf, who was recently sacked as PCB D-G (Special Projects), has alleged that Boards Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghami targeted him in order to induct his friend Ahmad Farooq, a bureaucrat who is currently working as the event director of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Lahore, June 17 : Salim Altaf, who was recently sacked as PCB D-G (Special Projects), has alleged that Board's Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghami targeted him in order to induct his 'friend' Ahmad Farooq, a bureaucrat who is currently working as the event director of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Altaf was removed last week on charges of leaking confidential matters of the Board to the media. He was charged of releasing Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf's letter written to team captain Shoaib Malik to explain the reasons behind the 140-run defeat against India in the recent tri-series in Bangladesh.
He said that even his foes couldn't point finger at his integrity as a PCB official, as he always worked for the betterment for the game and the Board.
"When the time is about to come to start working on the World Cup project, the chairman has decided to bring in a new man and I believe my dismissal was made simply to adjust Ahmad Farooq, a bureaucrat who is currently working as the event director of the ICC Champions Trophy. All the drama was staged by PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghami to bring in his friend (Farooq) on this post," the Dawn quoted Altaf as saying.
Last Thursday, the PCB terminated Salim Altaf's sevices after he was accused by the Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf of leaking confidential news to journalists and some outsiders. "I would like to ask Dr Ashraf that when he has only been sharing the information with his hand-picked management, how can I leak any secret information to the media," Salim said and added: "First of all there is no secret dealings in the PCB, since it is a public institution and the people have the right to be aware of its affairs. But even if any sensitive news has been leaked by me I must be informed about it."
He added: "Was it I who reduce the PCB kitty by Rs 2 billion in just seven months (June 30, 2007 to Jan 31, 2008) and was it me who opened accounts with 24 banks, mainly of B-graded rankings, just to earn commission on deposits. And what action did the chairman take against Nadeem Akram who misguided the Governing Board in quoting a hefty amount of Rs 90 million for six generators?"
ANI