P@SHA’s Central Executive Committee says it removed Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed through a two-thirds no-confidence vote, while Syed has challenged the decision as illegal.
ISLAMABAD: A leadership dispute has erupted within the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) after its Central Executive Committee announced a no-confidence vote against Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed and handed acting charge to Senior Vice Chairman Muhammad Umair Nizam.
In a message circulated to members, P@SHA said the no-confidence motion was approved by a two-thirds majority, with Nizam assuming the role of acting chairman with immediate effect until the election of a new chairman.
The move has been rejected by Syed, who described his removal as “unfortunate and illegal” and said he was challenging the decision through legal channels.
Syed said he was in Doha when the dispute unfolded and linked the development to an application he had filed with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) concerning an anonymous email.
According to Syed, the subsequent investigation resulted in several current and former members of P@SHA’s Central Executive Committee, along with some staff members, being called for questioning.
Those claims could not be independently verified from publicly available material, and no immediate public statement from the NCCIA confirming the details was available.
The dispute comes at a sensitive time for P@SHA, with elections for the Central Executive Committee and office bearers for the 2026–2028 term scheduled for Sept. 17. According to P@SHA’s official election schedule, the final voter list was displayed and nominations opened Aug. 24, while the deadline for nominations is Aug. 28.
The association’s website currently lists Syed as chairman in its 2024–2026 Central Executive Committee archive, while Nizam is identified as senior vice chairman.
The latest development follows an earlier governance dispute in June, when the Directorate General of Trade Organizations suspended a decision declaring the chairman’s office vacant and restored Syed to his position. That order also invalidated subsequent actions, including the appointment of an acting chairman at the time.
The latest no-confidence decision therefore sets the stage for another internal and potentially legal battle over P@SHA’s leadership.
P@SHA represents Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services sector and regularly engages with government institutions on issues including taxation, exports, connectivity, regulation and investment.
With the scheduled elections less than a month away, the immediate question is whether the latest no-confidence decision will stand or face further challenge through internal or legal proceedings.
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