Sports

Pakistan snooker suffers further injustice

PM approves Rs500,000 for Muhammad Asif; PBSA rejects it

Our Correspondent January 03, 2015

During the last 24 months, Asif has brought laurels to Pakistan by being crowned IBSF World Champion and Asian 6-Red winner, while he has also won the World Team Championship along with Muhammad Sajjad. PHOTO: EXPRESS/MUHAMMAD NOMAN

KARACHI: In a further demoralising move, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved just a mere Rs500,000 as the cash award for former IBSF World Champion Muhammad Asif, who has been running from pillar to post for his due prize money of over Rs15 million for more than two years now.

During the last 24 months, Asif has brought laurels to Pakistan by being crowned IBSF World Champion and Asian 6-Red winner, while he has also won the World Team Championship along with Muhammad Sajjad. However, despite these feats, his services have not been acknowledged by the government of Pakistan.

The sport has given plenty to Pakistan, but the injustices continue as the PM approved a Rs50 million grant for the Pakistan Squash Federation.

A letter from the Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) made available to The Express Tribune read: “The prime minister’s office has conveyed that the honourable PM has approved Rs50 million to the Pakistan Squash Federation with the direction that another Rs500,000 be awarded to Muhammad Asif, snooker player, through supplementary grant by the Finance Division to the Pakistan Sports Board.”

And this has not gone down well with the player and the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA).

“This is severe injustice with the former world champion, approving just Rs500,000. We’ve rejected it in writing,” PBSA President Alamgir Sheikh told The Express Tribune during the press conference for the National Junior U21 Snooker Championship. “I’m going to Islamabad along with Asif and Sajjad to meet President Mamnoon Hussain to apprise him of our apprehensions. We hope that justice will be done with the players and the sport as a whole.”

On another note, Sheikh added that the national junior event will begin from January 5 and the two finalists of the competition will appear in the Asian U21 Championship later this year.

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