The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume the hearing of a petition contesting Mohsin Naqvi‘s appointment as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman on Wednesday, June 26, 2025. The bench, led by acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfaraz Dogar, will revisit arguments over both the legality and transparency of Naqvi’s selection.
Legal Challenge: Process, Power, and Authority
The petitioner argues that the caretaker prime minister had no constitutional authority to appoint the PCB chairman. The counsel contends that the responsibility of appointing the chairman belongs to the elected prime minister—not caretaker administrations. The petition points out that while caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar approved Naqvi’s nomination, this exceeded his mandate. Naqvi officially took charge on January 22, 2024.
Last heard on March 5, 2024, the court issued notices to all relevant parties. Since then, the case has been pending until now.
Context: Why the Dispute Matters
Mohsin Naqvi—currently serving as interior minister and formerly caretaker chief minister of Punjab—has come under scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest and the procedural integrity of his appointment. Critics argue that a caretaker PM lacks the constitutional backing to make such high-level appointments.
This concern is reinforced by a recent IHC ruling. In a separate decision, a single-member bench led by Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri struck down the caretaker government’s revocation of the denotification of the president and vice president of the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council, concluding that the caretaker PM lacks authority in hiring and firing on key positions.
The judgment reiterated that a caretaker government’s powers are strictly confined to “day‑to‑day affairs,” and that “major appointments or removals” fall outside its mandate. It underscored that it has no mandate of public support and cannot exercise powers reserved for elected governments, particularly regarding significant appointments, removals, or policy changes.
