Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi promises to deliver as PCB chairman

KARACHI: On a day when Pakistan’s security forces carried out strikes against terrorists inside Afghanistan, the country’s cricket authorities were busy making final arrangements for the year’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final.

And the man who would have been privy to the intelligence-based operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out during the day was busy watching the PSL final at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi Monday night in his capacity as the “powerful chairman” of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the country’s richest sports body.

Questions have been raised about whether it was right to give two such important positions to one man and whether Mohsin Naqvi, despite his reputation as a doer, will be able to cope with the burden of the dual responsibilities. And the question was asked again when Naqvi interacted with the Karachi media for the first time after taking over as PCB chairman here at the National Bank Stadium Monday night.

Asked whether he can juggle both jobs, Naqvi smiled and then said that he thinks he can. “Yes I can manage both,” he said but decided against saying much about it. A few minutes later, he was asked the same question again and his response wasn’t different.

In fact he was non-committal on most issues, responding with one-liners to most questions that mattered. However, he did hint at carrying out long-term plans including downsizing the PCB which he said has almost 900 employees.