Advertisement
Advertisement
The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has set aside the lifetime ban imposed on athletics coach Salman Iqbal Butt, restoring the career of the man credited with shaping Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem.
The decision, issued by Senator Pervaiz Rashid acting as PSB adjudicator, declared the ban enforced by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) as “without lawful authority, unconstitutional, ultra vires and void ab initio.”
The AFP had sanctioned Butt on October 12, 2025, prompting him to challenge the ruling on grounds of flawed procedure and lack of jurisdiction.
After reviewing all submissions, the adjudicator overturned the sanction through a detailed order issued on November 13.
According to the judgment, the AFP failed to meet even the most basic requirements of due process.
Butt was never served a charge sheet, no inquiry report was shared with him, and he was not provided a meaningful opportunity to present a defense.
The order emphasised that any penalty issued through such a defective process cannot stand in the eyes of the law.
Citing violations of Articles 4, 10-A and 25 of the Constitution, the adjudicator ruled that the lifetime ban was excessive, unsupported by AFP’s own regulations, and issued without constitutional authority.
The PSB also directed the AFP to immediately withdraw all adverse communications circulated to international bodies, including World Athletics and Asian Athletics, noting that the federation’s actions had harmed Butt’s global reputation.
It further restrained the AFP from issuing any defamatory or prejudicial communications against the coach in the future.
Interestingly, despite the AFP’s ban announcement last month, Salman Butt accompanied Arshad during his latest international outing, the Islamic Solidarity Games, one where Nadeem once again delivered gold with an 83.05m throw.
On the same stage, Yasir Sultan marked his debut with a remarkable 76.04m effort to secure silver, lifting Pakistan’s medal tally to four.
READ: Arsenal’s Eze revels in ‘special’ hat-trick after destroying Tottenham
