The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has officially imposed bans on several athletes and officials linked to the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) following confirmed anti-doping violations uncovered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) under Operation JASMINE.
According to a press release issued on Monday, the PSB named the individuals involved: Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, Farhan Majeed, Hafiz Imran Butt (former PWF President), Irfan Butt (coach), and Waqas Akbar (coach).
The PSB stated that all athletes and coaches will remain suspended for the full duration of their international bans, while officials have been disqualified from any sports-related activity for four years, effective immediately.
The move follows a chain of events dating back to 2021, when multiple Pakistani weightlifters evaded testing and later tested positive for banned substances, resulting in suspensions confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD) in early 2025.
Under the decision, all banned individuals are prohibited from taking part in any sporting activity, holding office, or accessing PSB facilities and benefits until their period of ineligibility expires.
The PSB reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to clean sport, emphasizing that as a signatory to the International Convention Against Doping in Sport, the country maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward doping and will continue to enforce strict compliance with global anti-doping regulations.
Copies of the notification have been dispatched to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Asian Weightlifting Federation (AWF), WADA, ITA, CAS, and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), as well as other national and international bodies.
The ITA had earlier released a comprehensive report in August 2024, detailing violations by Pakistani weightlifters and federation officials.
In that report, Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, Farhan Majeed, Hafiz Imran Butt, Irfan Butt, and Waqas Akbar were all identified for anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs).
According to the ITA, Sharjeel Butt, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa, and Farhan Majeed were each handed four-year suspensions for doping offences committed in 2021.
Further investigations led to the notification of coach Irfan Butt and former PWF president Hafiz Imran Butt for more severe offences.
“Irfan Butt has been charged under Article 2.6 (Possession of Prohibited Substances) and Article 2.8 (Administration of Prohibited Substances) of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules for violations committed between 2014 and 2016,” the ITA report said.
“Hafiz Imran Butt faces charges under Article 2.6 (Possession), Article 2.8 (Administration), and Article 2.9 (Complicity) for offences during the same period.”
Since more than three athletes from the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation committed doping violations within a 12-month period, this has triggered Article 12.31 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules. Consequently, the case will be referred to the IWF Independent Member Federation Sanctioning Panel (IMFSP) for possible further sanctions against the federation itself.
