FIFA reinstates Pakistan Football Federation after 14-month suspension

FIFA restored the membership of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Thursday after it was suspended for more than a year "due to undue third-party interference."

The ban was imposed last April for six months after the "hostile takeover" of the PFF headquarters in the northeastern city of Lahore and the ousting of a FIFA representative by a rival group.

Taking notice of a rift between rival PFF groups, world soccer's governing body formed a normalization committee in September 2019 to mediate and hold fresh elections to resolve the long-running dispute.

However, a group led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah stormed the PFF headquarters and seized control from the committee last March, claiming it won the elections held under the supervision of Pakistan's apex court.

FIFA set a deadline of March 31, 2021 for the group to vacate the headquarters, warning that Pakistan would be suspended if the issue was not resolved.

The notice, however, was ignored, leading to the PFF's suspension.

In a statement, FIFA said the decision to lift the suspension was taken after it "received confirmation that the normalization committee of the PFF had regained full control of the PFF's premises and was in a position to manage its finances."

It also said that the committee's mandate has been extended until June 30, 2023.

Haroon Malik, head of the committee, said all sanctions, including a ban on participation in international events, have been lifted.

"This is a big day for Pakistan's football," he said in a video message.

With the extended mandate, the committee will work to hold fresh elections to resolve the dispute, he added.

The internal power struggle had also led to PFF's suspension in October 2017, which ended in March 2018.