POA hopes for quick solution
Official urges national bodies for swift action to avoid IOC ban.
PHOTO: AFP/ FILE
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) feels that the onus is on the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to quickly find common ground and help Pakistan avoid a ban from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The country’s Olympic governing body hopes there can be a resolution found soon as pressure from the IOC is increasing and a ban could become inevitable.
POA president Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan has once again asked the IOC to give his sports body some time to reach an amicable solution with the PSB and IPC after a deadlock evolved over the implementation of National Sports Policy.
“IPC and PSB should think seriously because this is the third time Hasan has requested IOC not to ban Pakistan,” a senior POA official told The Express Tribune.
“This POA body has been fairly elected and thus nobody can dissolve it. For the larger interest of sports in Pakistan, we would request the two bodies to stop creating uncertainty and let things run smoothly.”
He warned that if things were not sorted out, then even Hasan would not be able to save Pakistan from the ban.
The PSB general council had formed an ‘interim committee’ to conduct new elections of the POA and to host the national games again. The interim committee had vowed to hold fresh elections soon but the POA official believes any such move to derail the Hasan-led setup could prove to be detrimental.
“The POA aims to avoid controversies and work for promotion of sports but there are people who are trying to create problems. One can only hope they foresee the consequences of such actions,” he concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2013.
The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) feels that the onus is on the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to quickly find common ground and help Pakistan avoid a ban from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The country’s Olympic governing body hopes there can be a resolution found soon as pressure from the IOC is increasing and a ban could become inevitable.
POA president Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan has once again asked the IOC to give his sports body some time to reach an amicable solution with the PSB and IPC after a deadlock evolved over the implementation of National Sports Policy.
“IPC and PSB should think seriously because this is the third time Hasan has requested IOC not to ban Pakistan,” a senior POA official told The Express Tribune.
“This POA body has been fairly elected and thus nobody can dissolve it. For the larger interest of sports in Pakistan, we would request the two bodies to stop creating uncertainty and let things run smoothly.”
He warned that if things were not sorted out, then even Hasan would not be able to save Pakistan from the ban.
The PSB general council had formed an ‘interim committee’ to conduct new elections of the POA and to host the national games again. The interim committee had vowed to hold fresh elections soon but the POA official believes any such move to derail the Hasan-led setup could prove to be detrimental.
“The POA aims to avoid controversies and work for promotion of sports but there are people who are trying to create problems. One can only hope they foresee the consequences of such actions,” he concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2013.