The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been suspended after the PFF headquarters were taken over by Syed Ashfaq Shah and his group. The federation was governed by a normalization committee appointed by FIFA. The committee was headed by Haroon Malik.
FIFA had deemed the takeover illegal and issued an ultimatum to Syed Ashfaq Shah and his group to hand over control of the PFF by March 31 or face a blanket suspension.
It is clear that the ultimatum was ignored.
FIFA issued a statement saying that the FIFA Council Bureau had suspended the PFF with immediate effect due to third-party interference.
“This situation is due to the recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protesters and the alleged decision by some individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed PFF Normalization Committee headed by Haroon Malik and hand over the leadership. PFF to Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah,” FIFA said
However, it is hoped that the suspension will be lifted if the situation is monitored by the relevant authorities, as FIFA said.
“This suspension will only be lifted when FIFA receives confirmation from the PFF Normalization Committee that the PFF premises, accounts, administration and communication channels are back under its full control and it can continue to carry out its mandate without further obstacles”.