ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has announced bans on multiple athletes and officials associated with the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) following conclusive anti-doping violations established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) under ‘Operation JASMINE’.
According to a statement by the PSB, those banned include Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, Farhan Majeed, Hafiz Imran Butt (former PWF president), Irfan Butt (coach), and Waqas Akbar (coach).
The board further clarified that “athletes and coaches will remain barred for the full duration of their international bans, while officials are prohibited from all sports-related activities for four years, effective immediately.”
The PSB decision follows a sequence of events starting in 2021, when several Pakistani athletes evaded testing and later tested positive, leading to multiple suspensions confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD) in early 2025.
’Operation JASMINE’ was the joint investigation by WADA’s World Anti-Doping Agency Intelligence and Investigations Department (WADA I&I) and the ITA into allegations that officials from the National Anti-Doping Organization of Pakistan directed weightlifters to refuse sample collection, and that some elite Pakistani athletes were given unjustified advance-notice of testing, in contravention of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations.
Those banned cannot participate in any sports activity, hold office, or access PSB facilities/ benefits until the expiry of their ineligibility period, said the PSB statement.
The board said that Pakistan, as a signatory to the International Convention against Doping in Sport, remains committed to upholding integrity, clean competition, and zero tolerance for doping.
International Weightlifting Federation
Copies of the PSB decision have also been dispatched to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Asian Weightlifting Federation (AWF), WADA, ITA, CAS, the Pakistan Olympic Association, and other national and international bodies.
In February, the sports board declared the PWF elections null and void, citing violations of the Islamabad High Court’s orders.
