Honing talent: ‘Sports, active lifestyle can reduce burden on hospitals’

Pakistan Olympic Association VP Salim Saifullah determined to add infrastructure

PESHAWAR: The newly elected Pakistan Olympic Association Vice President Salim Saifullah Khan has said promoting sports activities in the province could help reduce the burden—physical and monetary—on the health sector.

“By encouraging people to play sports and have an active lifestyle, we can help the public avoid getting sick. This will also decrease the burden on hospitals,” he said as he addressed the audience at a reception at a hotel in the city Thursday night. The event was hosted in his honour by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association (KPKOA) affiliated with Pakistan Olympic Association. Saifullah, who is the president of Pakistan Tennis Federation and vice president of Asian Tennis Federation, thanked the KPKOA for supporting his candidature.

He voiced concerns over the lack of proper playgrounds, stadiums, courts and other infrastructure for sports in the province in particular, and the rest of the country in general. “Pakistan, especially Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is internationally known for producing talented players,” he said, adding players have set global records so they must be supported to maintain their rankings.

Saifullah said due to a stock of reasons, no one in the past gave importance to the sports sector in the country.

“With the help of the present government, and the association’s central and provincial presidents, I am determined to build sports facilities throughout the region,” he said. Saifullah plans to establish contact with federal and provincial governments to further the cause. He said he was working on getting support from the Asian Tennis Federation, among other international organisations, to help promote sports in the province.

Besides serving as a federal and provincial minister, Saifullah is also the honorary consul general of Turkey in Peshawar.

Former provincial minister and KPKOA President Syed Aqil Shah also addressed the event. Shah said he hoped sports activities would be strengthened all over the province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2016.