LONDON: The former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) adviser Ehsan Mani has said that Najam Sethi, ex-PCB chairman, had nothing to do with the bidding procedures or sports rights for the cricket series against Sri Lanka.
Geo TV’s detractors and Najam Sethi’s critics, without presenting any evidence, have alleged that Sethi, who hosts one of the most watched current affairs shows on Geo called ‘Aapas Ki Baat’, may have helped Geo Super get the sporting rights for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series held in the United Arab Emirates last year.
But in an exclusive interview over phone with this correspondent from France, Ehsan Mani, who was the head of the PCB committee that approved the Geo Sports’ bid for the Sri Lanka/South Africa series, expressed shock that such baseless allegations were aired without giving any thought to the facts.
Ehsan Mani is a board member of Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and a friend of Imran Khan — who has led the campaign of allegations against the Jang and Geo Group, accusing the group of being involved in election rigging and winning favours from Nawaz Sharif — but Mani said he was astonished that such allegations were being made knowingly by some whose aim was to malign rather than to do anything good.
But the stern rebuttal by Ehsan Mani will come as a shock to Imran Khan who faces court cases from Jang and Geo over these allegations.
Ehsan Mani clarified: “The committee that I headed comprised Justice Shabbar Rizvi, an ex-Lahore High Court judge, Ahmed Hussain and a lawyer. It had three PCB management members Subhan Ahmed, COO, Badar Khan, CFO, and Salman Naseer, PCB’s internal legal adviser. It has had an ex-PCB Board member Bughio, a close aide of Zaka Ashraf.
“It was on my request that renowned accounting firmErnst & Young was taken on board to oversee all the process and to ensure that the whole bidding process was independent and transparent. The aim was to ensure transparency so that no bidder should be given undue advantage. Ernst and Young made the final report with recommendations and sent it to the PCB.”
Ehsan Mani said that the highest bidders were Ten Sports and Geo and they were recommended on the basis of the merit of their bids, the highest amounts they put down to win these rights. “Najam Sethi wasn’t involved at any stage. He had nothing to do with the bidding at any of the stages. There was only one PCB representative Bughio who sat in the meeting as an observer. Najam Sethi didn’t have any influence at any stage. There was no pressure, corruption or manipulation. Everything was independent and the bid was open, negotiations were opened and on board. Everything was on record and minutes were taken down.”
After the bids were received, Mani said, the committee only recommended to the PCB board that the South African series shall go to Ten Sports and the rights for Sri Lanka shall go to Geo Super. “We had no power other than to make recommendations. The PCB governing body finalised the decision. There was no interference at all at any level, there’s no question of any pressure. It was not possible. The highest bidder won and it’s simple. The terms and conditions were provided in writing in advance to all the parties involved.”
Ehsan Mani refused to disclose how much money was offered by Geo Super and Ten Sports because it was “confidential” but he stressed that the rights were won by the highest and the most competitive bidders. “There is no doubt about that. This is all on the record. Ernst & Young witnessed the negotiations and recorded everything. Their report was confidential and private which we didn’t see. Everyone involved was satisfied with the procedures and no objections were raised.”
When asked if the chairman PCB could manipulate at any stage using his powers, Ehsan Mani said that the process of establishing committees was such that the chairman couldn’t do anything. “The PCB chairman cannot manipulate. When I was approached to be a part of this committee, I said I will help.”
Mani said that he has been helping the Pakistan cricket since 1992 and had been involved in many deals and at various stages. “My only condition was that this committee will be independent and the PCB chairman will not be involved. The committee was completely independent and any involvement from any quarter was out of the question. I had done the ICC deal for $500 million in 2000. In 2006 and 2007, I was asked again by the ICC to help with their rights and one of the deals was done for $1.1 billion. When my reputation is so high and I am trusted so much, then why would I do anything untoward?”
When asked again if Najam Sethi had anything to do with the bidding process, Ehsan Mani said that Najam Sethi had no involvement. “Najam Sethi had absolutely no involvement. He couldn’t have done that. We followed a transparent procedure. No bidder knew who was offering what amount. No one knew what was on board. We wanted maximum money. We wanted maximum money for the PCB and that was our aim. Those who failed our targets failed to get the rights. All bidders were there and they knew what was going on.”
Ehsan Mani’s interview has proved the allegation leveled by Imran Khan, Mubashir Luqman and several TV channels as a complete lie. Several channels, particularly ARY, were alleging that Sethi favoured Geo in getting the cricket rights. Imran Khan leveled this allegation in his several TV interviews. He particularly attended Mubashir Luqman’s programme at ARY and repeatedly leveled this baseless allegation.
The Jang Group’s response to this allegation was present at its website, parts of social media and even published several times in newspapers, but no anchorperson ever asked any question from Imran Khan about the role and stand of Ehsan Mani, who is the chairman of the audit committee of Shaukat Khanum Hospital.
As Imran’s allegation has been proven a lie, the lawyers community in the UK is discussing what would be the worth of Imran’s other allegations against the Geo and Jang Group. They think Imran, who enjoys respect in the UK, will face embarrassment on failure to prove his charges against the Geo/Jang Group in the UK courts.
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