The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has imposed bans on several officials and athletes associated with the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) following confirmed doping violations under the “Operation Jasmine” investigation conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA).
Those banned include athletes Sharjeel Butt, Abdur Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, and Farhan Majeed, along with former PWF President Hafiz Imran Butt, coach Irfan Butt, and coach Waqas Akbar.
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According to the PSB, the athletes and coaches will remain suspended for the full duration of their international bans, while the mentioned officials have been barred from all sports-related activities for four years.
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The decision is effective immediately.
A PSB spokesperson stated that the banned individuals “will not be allowed to participate in any kind of sporting activity until the completion of their disqualification period.”
The bans come after a series of incidents dating back to 2021, when multiple athletes earlier evaded doping tests and later tested positive for banned substances.
Several suspensions were subsequently upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in early 2025.
Copies of the PSB’s decision have been sent to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Asian Weightlifting Federation (AWF), WADA, ITA, CAS, Pakistan Olympic Association, and other national and international sports bodies.
