The Pakistan Sports Board has overturned the lifetime ban placed on Salman Iqbal Butt, coach of Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem, declaring the Athletics Federation of Pakistan’s decision unlawful and invalid from the outset. The ruling by Senator Pervaiz Rashid, acting as PSB adjudicator, found that the AFP imposed the ban without jurisdiction, due process, or any legal foundation.
The order noted that no charge sheet was issued to Butt, no inquiry report was shared with him, and he was not granted a fair hearing or an opportunity to defend himself. These failures, the adjudicator held, rendered the penalty unconstitutional and beyond the AFP’s authority under its own rules.
The AFP has been directed to immediately withdraw all adverse letters it sent to international bodies such as World Athletics and Asian Athletics. It has also been barred from issuing any future defamatory or prejudicial communications against Butt, whose global standing had been affected by the correspondence.
The case was also tied to the Punjab Athletics Association elections, which the AFP attempted to declare invalid. The adjudicator ruled that the AFP had no authority over the matter, as the elections were supervised by the Punjab Sports Board and the Punjab Olympic Association. Observers nominated for the elections raised no objections at the time, confirming their validity.
The ruling emphasised that the ban disrupted preparations for Pakistan’s elite athletics programme. Butt has coached Arshad Nadeem for years, including during his historic Paris 2024 Olympic campaign. The decision noted that the AFP’s actions caused uncertainty for the country’s top athlete, threatened medal prospects, and risked damaging Pakistan’s international reputation.
Arshad Nadeem had submitted a written statement in support of his coach and in opposition to the ban. The proceedings were assisted by PSB legal advisor Saif ur Rehman Rao. The AFP was represented by its president, Brigadier (R) Wajahat Hussain, and advocate Usman Akram.
The adjudicator rejected the AFP’s objections regarding the petition’s maintainability and confirmed his full jurisdiction under the PSB Constitution. With this ruling, Salman Butt’s status, rights, and privileges as a national athletics coach have been completely restored.
