The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has imposed bans on several weightlifters and officials of the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation after confirmed anti-doping violations under “Operation Jasmine,” conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA).
The banned individuals include athletes Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, and Farhan Majeed, along with officials Hafiz Imran Butt (former PWF president), Irfan Butt (coach), and Waqas Akbar (coach).
According to PSB, the athletes and coaches will remain banned for the full duration of their international suspensions, while the officials have been suspended from all sports-related activities for four years. The decision takes effect immediately.
The disciplinary action follows investigations into doping violations dating back to 2021, when multiple athletes reportedly tried to avoid drug testing or later tested positive for banned substances. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the suspensions earlier this year.
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A PSB spokesperson said that none of the banned individuals will be allowed to take part in any sports activity until their disqualification period ends. Copies of the decision have been sent to the IOC, OCA, IWF, AWF, WADA, ITA, CAS, and the Pakistan Olympic Association.
