Zaka Ashraf

Muhammad Zaka Ashraf (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد ذكا اشرف‎; born 9 September 1952) is a Pakistani executive who was the president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL).^[1] He was appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board on 15 October 2011 by the President of Pakistan and took the charge on 27 October 2011.^[2] However, on 10 February 2014, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif dissolved the PCB governing board and sacked him for the chairmanship of PCB.^[3] In August 2012, has been elected as chairman Development Committee of Asian Cricket Council.^[4]

He also served as Adviser to the Chief Minister of Sindh from 1988 to 1990. He is member of the Central Executive Committee of Pakistan People's party (the ruling party of Pakistan). He is brother of Begum Ishrat Ashraf, Pakistan Muslim League (N) MNA on reserved seat. As a head of ZTBL, he promoted the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd Cricket Team, who performed very well in domestic cricket matches.

Zaka Ashraf belongs to a traditional industrial and farming family of Punjab. After passing out from Petaro, he took his bachelor's degree, and then joined his father in his business.

He has had a career in business ever since. Over the years, he has become the Chairman of the Ashraf Group of Industries and Ashraf Sugar Mills, Bahawalpur, both of which had been established by his father.

Over the past several years, he was also elected as the Chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. In this capacity, he has done a lot of work to promote the production and use of ethanol from the molasses produced in the sugar industry. He has been instrumental in developing a policy for the country to blend ethanol with petrol to reduce harmful emissions into the environment and to take the country one more step towards using indigenous fuels.

Prior to his tenure as President of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), the bank had been plundered by different interest groups in the country and left with huge losses and bad debts. It was a monumental task for him to bring the bank into a viable position. This bank is a very important component of our agrarian economy. Despite internal and external pressures, he has been trying hard to restructure the bank.

Suspension by the Court

The Islamabad High Court stopped Zaka Ashraf from working as Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman on the petition of that the election of Zaka as PCB chairman was malafide by the former coach of Pakistan Army Cricket team.^[5] Moreover, the IHC had barred him from performing his duties on the grounds that the process of his election was not transparent. On 24 June 2013, the case adjourned till further notice.

Re-Appointment

The Islamabad High Court reinstated Zaka Ashraf as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board on 15 January 2014. The decision to reinstate Ashraf was taken by a two-member division bench consisting of Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan. The court accepted the intra-court appeal against the decision by a single-member bench of IHC consisting of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. On 19 July 2013, the Islamabad High Court had declared the appointment of Ashraf "illegal" and directed the acting PCB chief Najam Sethi to hold elections within 90 days.^[6]

Stance on Big 3

Alleging that the control and management of world cricket is in the hands of a troika comprising England, Australia and India, he termed that the formation of this "Big-3" is a dictatorial decision which is harmful for the game as well.^[7]

Education

Ashraf is an alumnus of the Sadiq Public School, Bahwalpur, and the Cadet College Petaro.

References