Islamabad, Jan 15 (IANS): Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf Wednesday heaved a sigh of relief after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reinstated him as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman.

Ashraf was reinstated by a two-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan and Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi after the hearing of an intra-court appeal filed by the ministry of inter-provincial coordination. Last month, Ashraf had appealed against the court's earlier ruling which had declared his appointment as PCB chairman illegal.

In July 2013, a three-member bench of the Islamabad High Court headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz had ordered the dismissal of Ashraf as the PCB chairman. The court had ruled that Ashraf’s appointment was illegal since it was made on the basis of personal relations instead of experience.

The court ruled that PCB should abide by articles 62, 63 of the Constitution under which a first class or Test cricketer or a graduate could contest the PCB elections for the post of chairman. The government then appointed Najam Sethi as PCB’s acting chairman after Ashraf’s dismissal.