Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer Salim Altaf said "seniority" was the main criterion in deciding the contracts which saw Akhtar named in the top 'A' category with captain Shoaib Malik, vice-captain Misbahul Haq, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt and Danish Kaneria.
He missed out on a central contract last year following Pakistan's Test and one-day series defeats in India in 2007, when he was often absent through illness and injury.
Angered by his exclusion, Akhtar publicly criticised the PCB and was handed the ban before its reduction on appeal.
The talented and fiery Akhtar has taken 178 Test wickets in a chequered international career that began in 1997. He tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in October 2006, although his two-year ban was overturned on appeal.
