Editorial We in Pakistan are adept at transforming our weaknesses into advantages; albeit in a convoluted way. Those reaping the advantages are fewer in number and the scale of profit-making is huge. One may have often wondered what stops our talented sportsmen and women from excelling on the international scene; from winning awards and medals. And one would not have to look too far to understand the cause. tussle The race to Olympics The Pakistan Olympic Association is fraught with infighting. Unfolding the two sides of the story — and a possible ban By Khalid Hussain Pakistan has not won an Olympic medal in more than 20 years — since the bronze medal won by the hockey team in Barcelona 1992. That means the national contingent has returned home empty-handed from the last five editions of the Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. Things look even worse in the lead up to Rio 2016 as not many Pakistani athletes are likely to even qualify for the next games. That’s a long list of failures. So, what would you do if you are at the helms of sports in a country at a time like this? Tough fight Sportspersons are ultimate sufferers in this fight for power between the two POA bodies By Faizan Lakhani Everywhere in the world, whenever Olympics are concluded, sports authorities start preparing for the next edition — they announce training plans for their athletes and commence their work, eyeing more medals than before. But, in Pakistan, things are different. Here, the sports authorities remain busy, not for the benefit of sportsmen or promotion of the game, but for their personal survival in respective sports bodies, including the Pakistan Olympic Association. From the inside What are the rules and regulations that govern the Pakistan Olympics Association? By Waqar Gillani Established in 1948, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) started working with Ahmad E H Jaffer as its first president. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan was nominated as the patron-in-chief of the POA. Today, it composes of four provincial and two federally administered tribal areas (FATA and Islamabad capital territory) associations; 34 national federations of sports, and six services organisations which include Pakistan army; Pakistan railways; Pakistan navy; Pakistan police; Pakistan air force; Water And Power Development Authority; and Higher Education Commission. encounter “IOC may suspend our membership” — Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan, President Pakistan Olympic Association By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed The News on Sunday: What is the issue with the POA and why has it not been resolved yet? Lt General (retd) Arif Hasan: Those who lost the elections to me in July joined hands with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to remove a legally elected President, totally misinterpreting the Supreme Court’s decision. The POA is a non-governmental organisation and is a creation of the International Olympics Association and, as per rules of the IOC, it should be free of any political or government influence. It’s quite strange that Pakistan is one of the few countries, out of the 204 members, which defies this rule. The so-called POA headed by Akram Sahi has full support of the government which wants to control the federations through funds which it gives to these sports bodies through PSB. “They are misleading the IOC” — Khawaja Farooq Saeed, secretary general of Pakistan Olympic Association (Gen (retd) Akram Sahi group) By Aoun Sahi The News on Sunday: We have two parallel POAs in Pakistan. General (retd) Arif Hasan group still has the IOC backing. Why do you term it illegal? Khawaja Farooq Saeed: The issue over two POAs has already been settled legally in the wake of decisions of the Lahore High Court in 2010 and lately by the Supreme Court on February 8, 2013. Arif Hasan’s election for the third term on February 4, 2013 was subject to the outcome of SC decision as an appeal was pending in the court on the issue. Once the court decided that no office-bearer can be allowed to keep office for more than two terms, he was no more head of POA and, legally speaking, his POA did not exist after February 8. The case of two national games A proof of the conflict within the POA lies in holding two national games — one in Lahore in December 2012 and the other in Islamabad in July 2013 Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has been holding national games every two years since 1948. But this year was unique with two games being held in a year — one in Lahore in December 2012 and the other in Islamabad in July 2013. The 31st National games were held in Peshawar in 2010 and, in 2011, it was decided that the 32nd national games would be held in Lahore in 2012. Besides the four provinces, Islamabad, Fata, three services (army, navy and air force) and four departments (Wapda, HEC, Railways and Police) take part in the games. The winner gets the Quaid-i-Azam trophy. Editorial We in Pakistan are adept at transforming our weaknesses into advantages; albeit in a convoluted way. Those reaping the advantages are fewer in number and the scale of profit-making is huge. One may have often wondered what stops our talented sportsmen and women from excelling on the international scene; from winning awards and medals. And one would not have to look too far to understand the cause. The very fact that at the moment there are two Pakistan Olypmic Associations, headed by two retired generals who are busy holding and winning independent elections, each claiming to be the most authentic body, and even conducting two separate national games, is proof of what’s wrong with the sports scene in this country. Each side states with a straight face that if the situation persists, the International Olympic association would suspend Pakistan’s membership, as if to blackmail the other side into accepting its point of view. This is a petty war of egos. This is not the stuff the people managing the field of sports would allow anywhere else in the world. No wonder, the state of sports in this country is so abysmally low. The decision of the Supreme Court in favour of one of the two parties has not helped matters either because the legality of something like a national Olympic association which is linked in more ways than one with the International Olympic Association cannot be established by the apex court. It cannot decide it in favour of one party which is not accepted as the legitimate body internationally. In all this infighting, it is sportsmen and sportswomen who suffer the most. The organisations that are supposed to promote their cause are busy promoting their own offices and positions, depending upon how close they are to the corridors of power. Interestingly, in our case, the corridor of power remains the same because both groups are headed by retired generals of the Pakistan army. Perhaps it is time to civilianise the sports and let this be a level playing field in the true sportsman spirit of sports tussle The race to Olympics The Pakistan Olympic Association is fraught with infighting. Unfolding the two sides of the story — and a possible ban By Khalid Hussain Pakistan has not won an Olympic medal in more than 20 years — since the bronze medal won by the hockey team in Barcelona 1992. That means the national contingent has returned home empty-handed from the last five editions of the Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. Things look even worse in the lead up to Rio 2016 as not many Pakistani athletes are likely to even qualify for the next games. That’s a long list of failures. So, what would you do if you are at the helms of sports in a country at a time like this? You fight, if you happen to be in Pakistan! And I’m not talking about the tough fight for a positive change. I’m talking about a power struggle that has brought the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) on the brink of an international ban. The main rivals in this tussle are two former army generals, both unwilling to budge. General (retd) Arif Hasan, as president of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), says he is struggling to shield the very spirit of the Olympic Movement in this country. But as the head of a parallel POA, General (retd) Akram Sahi — Hasan’s bitter rival — claims he is fighting in the greater interest of Pakistan sports. Both of them have powerful allies backing them. Hasan has the complete support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a body that has the final say in matters related to Olympic sports. Sahi is backed by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and to a great extent by the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC). Both PSB and the IPC ministries are important players in this power struggle which is threatening to push Pakistan sports towards further destruction. The story is both complicated and simple. It is complicated if you allow yourself to get buried in the loads of paperwork that include court rulings, countless emails shot by either party, stinkers written by the IOC, the government responses, etc. But it is simple if you take a look at the bigger picture. If you do that then it becomes obvious that the main issue here is the so-called minus-one formula. The big objective here is to get rid of Hasan as POA chief. If that happens, then it is likely that other issues of lesser magnitude would be resolved without much fuss. Hasan’s adversaries believe that they have enough ammunition against the POA chief. Their biggest contention is that according to the national sports policy, Hasan cannot be allowed a third term as POA president. They have a point. In February 2012, Hasan was elected as POA chief for a third four-year term that ends in 2016. The sports policy, however, dictates clearly that a third such term is illegal. The anti-Hasan group also put forward multiple court rulings which they claim are against the results of last February elections. “We believe that Arif Hasan doesn’t have any justification to be POA president. We would make sure that he is forced to quit and once that happens this crisis would be over,” claims a source in the anti-Hasan camp. But it is not as easy as it sounds. In spite of a powerful opposition which has the backing of the government, Hasan remains in a commanding position. He is like a batsman standing on the crease while the opposition is on the bowling end. A bowler can come down the pitch, stare at the batsman and even say a word or two. But in the end, it is the bowler who has to go back to hurl his next delivery. In such cases, a batsman always wins whatever the scenario. As long as Hasan has IOC’s support, he cannot be dislodged. That is something that the government authorities will have to understand. But that means there won’t be an easy way out of what is a neck-deep crisis. However, Hasan and his supporters believe that an amicable solution can be reached. They are calling for a review of the national sports policy. They also want the relevant government departments to take a neutral stance over the issue. But first of all, they want all stakeholders to agree that Arif Hasan is the legitimate head of the National Olympic Committee (NOC). They are of the view that once that’s done, then the war would be over. But the problem is that a war isn’t war till the time both parties say it is. Hasan and his supporters will stick to their guns because they know that with IOC’s support they would win eventually. His adversaries don’t think so. They are of the view that with an all-out backing by the government authorities, who fund Pakistan sports, they would succeed in ousting the POA president sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, this standoff is already hitting Pakistan sports where it really hurts. Recently, Pakistan scrambled to send a depleted contingent to the Asian Youth Games to be hosted by China because the government decided against providing any funds for it. The POA which doesn’t have the sort of funds enjoyed by the PSB managed to foot the bill. A controversy is unfolding over next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and there are fears that the POA infighting might result in Pakistan’s ouster from the quadrennial spectacle. That is because, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) decided to overlook the POA reminders about showing its intent to participate in the Glasgow Games. Instead, it opted to put the ball in the PSB’s court and sought government permission to take part in the event. The issue has to be decided before August 16 — the deadline to accept a formal invitation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CWGF). It is feared that unless an amicable solution is reached, a similar story would be repeated over Pakistan’s participation in Asian Games 2014. That’s not all. If the issue is allowed to drag on, there is this clear and present danger that the IOC would suspend Pakistan’s membership. Such an eventuality would be catastrophic for Pakistan sports. In the past, IOC has banned countries like India, Iraq and Ghana and the body is unlikely to hesitate if such an action is needed to be taken against Pakistan at some point in time. It is time that instead of inching towards an international suspension, all stakeholders should sit down and talk out their differences. In fact, the tussle can even prove to be a blessing in disguise because it provides an opportunity to right the various wrongs in the system. It is important that various important issues like the controversial national sports policy are discussed thoroughly before being reviewed. The policy is, indeed, an incomplete one and there is this desperate need to refresh, or even rewrite it with an emphasis on sports promotion and development starting from the grassroots level. The PSB, too, should review its various clauses, especially 4iia and 4xi that are seemingly in direct conflict with the IOC charter. The Board and other relevant government departments should not involve themselves in any move that is perceived as a power struggle. They are there to support and facilitate Pakistan sports and not to seize absolute control of it. Hasan and his supporters will also have to show their keenness to resolve this issue. They will have to be flexible. By winning last February’s election, Hasan emerged as the legitimate chief of the POA. But he should make it public that he won’t even think about looking for a fourth term in 2016. As POA president, he will have to give more to Pakistan sports during his last few years in office than he has given in his first two terms. In the meantime, Pakistan’s sports fraternity will have to devise ways and means to come out with a transparent process to elect office bearers of bodies like the POA. The main criterion to elect an official should be what he or she knows about sports and its development rather that whom, he or she knows in the corridors of power. Otherwise, Pakistan sports will continue to suffer. Tough fight Sportspersons are ultimate sufferers in this fight for power between the two POA bodies By Faizan Lakhani Everywhere in the world, whenever Olympics are concluded, sports authorities start preparing for the next edition — they announce training plans for their athletes and commence their work, eyeing more medals than before. But, in Pakistan, things are different. Here, the sports authorities remain busy, not for the benefit of sportsmen or promotion of the game, but for their personal survival in respective sports bodies, including the Pakistan Olympic Association. No wonder, Pakistan hasn’t been able to win a single medal in Olympics since winning a bronze medal in men’s hockey in Barcelona, 1992. Pakistan, that was already struggling in international sports arena, and virtually isolated due to security situation in the country, is facing a suspension from the membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC reiterates it only recognises the POA headed by Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan. It also warned Pakistan authorities against holding any “illegal” elections, however, authorities remained unfazed and organised the elections on July 5, 2013. Things are getting worse. The IOC has already advised all the affiliated sports bodies to not entertain athletes nominated by the “parallel” and “illegal” POA headed by Major General (retd) Akram Sahi. Jérôme Poivey, head of the Institutional Relations and Governance in the IOC sent an email to all international bodies on May 31, clarifying that the IOC recognises POA headed by Gen. Arif Hasan. What is more worrisome is the fact that the new POA, which is termed “illegal” and “parallel” by the International Olympic Committee, is run by the head of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, who apparently believes the present scenario isn’t harmful for sportsmen. “Sportsmen are not at loss, only Arif Hasan is on the losing side,” Akram Sahi told the media when he visited Karachi in June. The News on Sunday understands that at least two international sports bodies have told their representatives in Pakistan to refrain from supporting the parallel body, else face the ban. Pakistan’s Basketball Federation is already suspended by the international governing body of basketball, but Asif Bajwa, the man in-charge of the game in the country, seems unruffled by the events. Sportsmen in the country are suffering due to this tug-of-war between the two groups. While the international authorities listen to the Gen Arif Hasan’s POA on nomination and participation of athletes, these athletes will need an NOC and funding from the government which comes from the government, and the government is backing Maj Gen Akram Sahi as the POA’s head. Recently, Pakistan’s contingent for the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Incheon, Korea was cut-short to 13 from 40. The country missed out participation in disciplines of kabaddi and snooker, both sports were a medal prospect for Pakistan. It is understood that sports authorities that support Arif Hasan are scared of announcing the squad for any particular event, as the government may block their departure from the country. Pakistan Swimming Federation was forced to send the players to the World Championship in Barcelona last week on self-funding basis, to avoid any possible problem, they also avoided to publicise the squad. The Pakistan Swimming Federation was probably aware of what was being done with the table tennis players and how attempts were made to stop their participation in the World Championship in France. “We thought they tried to stop the table tennis players and that they could do the same to other athletes; that’s why most of the federations have decided to not make their participation public unless the athletes have joined the start-list,” says a source, who prefers to remain anonymous. Arif Hasan, who is also backed by the International Olympic Committee, says the situation is not healthy for the future of Pakistan sports. “It is unfortunate that sports and sportsmen in Pakistan are suffering due to this unwanted situation,” says Arif Hasan. Gen. Hasan says he is backed by the IOC, but the problem is that the PSB has stopped all funding and camps for athletes “who are nominated by us. We are trying to ensure Pakistan’s participation at the international level and we are not getting funds from the government due to obvious reasons. We are doing it on our own,” says Arif Hasan. Participation of the Pakistan Hockey (PHF) team in next year’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow is also uncertain as the PHF has openly supported government interference in the Olympics movement in Pakistan, which is also a violation of the IOC charter. Although, Arif Hasan is making attempts to ensure Pakistan’s participation in the CWG hockey, the PHF sought advice from the PSB which directed them to Akram Sahi’s POA, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Federation and Olympic Council of Asia. “I’m trying my best to use my contacts and relations to avoid Pakistan’s suspension. But for how long will the IOC and OCA wait? We can’t ignore the Olympic charter,” says Arif Hasan. Ironically, this tussle for power in POA has also led to the creation of parallel bodies in different sports federations in Pakistan, leaving sportsmen in a catch-22 situation on where to go. Parallel Federations of boxing, athletics, cycling and table tennis are already in place, probably not for the benefit of the games but perhaps to control the power corridors of sports. Not only this, the government-backed interim committee, that also organised the “illegal” POA elections, imposed a ban on officials who were supporting Arif Hasan. It also endorsed the officials of parallel bodies. More than a dozen sports bodies supporting Arif Hasan as POA’s president were declared “disaffiliate” by the interim committee. To further worsen the situation, the interim committee organised the national games in the country last month and declared the results of the 32nd National Games conducted in December 2012 as null and void. Athletes who participated in the national games held in December are skeptical — they protested against the games held last month but the interim committee remained unfazed. On the other hand, the athletes who participated in the recent “controversial” national games fear they may face un-announced ban by Arif Hasan’s POA. “I don’t know what to do. I participated in the national games as I’m contracted to represent the army that stands with Gen. Sahi,” says national swimmer Kiran Khan, who won 16 gold medals in the national games. “It is highly demotivating for us to hear that Pakistan can be banned by the IOC soon,” adds Kiran. After witnessing the sports authorities in Pakistan in such disarray, one wonders what if the same level of energy was used by them to promote sports. Would Pakistan have been in a better winning position in international sports arena? All said and done, whoever stays and whoever goes, but sportsmen are the ultimate sufferers in this war for power in the POA. The writer is sports correspondent for Geo News and tweets at @faizanlakhani From the inside What are the rules and regulations that govern the Pakistan Olympics Association? By Waqar Gillani Established in 1948, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) started working with Ahmad E H Jaffer as its first president. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan was nominated as the patron-in-chief of the POA. Today, it composes of four provincial and two federally administered tribal areas (FATA and Islamabad capital territory) associations; 34 national federations of sports, and six services organisations which include Pakistan army; Pakistan railways; Pakistan navy; Pakistan police; Pakistan air force; Water And Power Development Authority; and Higher Education Commission. The association has 20 aims and objective to perform its role. Some of them are: to foster and develop olympism, the olympic movement along with its high ideals and ensure the observance of the olympic charter; to encourage, promote, control and assist in the development of sports in Pakistan, etc. The objectives also include to hold and supervise the national games at least once in two years or whenever necessary; and to affiliate national federations of games or sports recognised in the olympic movement, associations, and to arrange and encourage systematic training of sportsmen, coaches and sports administrators in Pakistan. In its Constitution revised in 2011, the mission of the POA — also recognised as National Olympics Committee, connected to International Olympics Association — is “to develop and protect the olympic movement in Pakistan in accordance with the olympic charter”. In order to fulfill its mission, the Pakistan Olympic Association may cooperate with governmental or non-governmental bodies. However, it will never associate itself with an activity which would be in contradiction with the Olympic Charter. “The POA is known as National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Pakistan. Within the country, the POA remains the oldest sport body,” says Shaukat Javed, one of the vice presidents of the association.” The IOC fully recognises it as the main body in the promotion of sports in Pakistan, he adds. The POA was the premier regulator of sports activities in Pakistan from 1948 until the establishment of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in 1962, which is an official body of the government of Pakistan. The POA was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1948. Subsequently, it also became member of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) respectively. Fundamentally, the POA is considered as the only representative of the IOC in Pakistan and operating exclusively under the Olympic Charter, independent of political, public or private organisations whatsoever. s “As an NOC, the POA is the first contact point between the IOC and Pakistan. The POA is responsible to bring athletes to regional, Asian, Commonwealth and olympic games and continues to develop programmes in coordination with its affiliated member units to promote sports at various tiers. It is also responsible for organising the national games every two years,” says Javed. The Constitution of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) was previously modified and updated in 2007 in accordance with Guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after completion of all Constitutional formalities of POA so as to bring it in line with the Olympic Charter. The IOC, while conveying the approval of the Constitution of the Pakistan Olympic Association vide its letter dated 6 September, 2007 had directed that any subsequent change made to this text upon POA’s own initiative or upon the IOC’s request shall require the approval of the IOC. Office-bearers of the POA are supposed to be elected every four years in an elective meeting of the General Council. The elected office-bearers include the office of the President, 10 Vice Presidents out of which three shall be one lady Vice President; Secretary General, and Treasurer. There will be seven Associate Secretaries Generals. All the Office Bearers, except the President and Secretary General shall be elected from amongst the persons eligible to attend the elective meeting of the General Council. The office bearers shall continue to hold office for a term of four years or till next election. The executive committee of the POA shall consist of all office bearers; IOC member(s) in Pakistan; twenty representatives of the member units to be elected at an elective meeting of the General Council; Lady members as per directive of IOC nominated by President POA duly approved by the General Council; one representative from the Athletes Commission nominated by the President. Meetings of the executive committee shall be held at least twice every year or as frequently as necessary. The sitting president of the POA, Lieutenant General (retd) Syed Arif Hasan is the 11th president of the POA and the second longest serving top office-bearer after his predecessor Syed Wajid Ali who held this post for almost 26 consecutive years. The IOC recognises Arif Hasan as the POA’s president and asked the former general to establish fruitful dialogue with the government of Pakistan to find solutions. The IOC in its at last two letters clearly issued by the heads of two separate divisions — the NOC Relations and International Relations and Governance — has most resoundingly endorsed the Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA’s) stance with regard to unlawful interim committee of the POA and its sham elections. A former military athlete Major Gen (retd) Akram Sahi emerged as a candidate for the post of POA president and after losing the election he moved court against the elections and has made a parallel POA. vaqargillani@gmail encounter “IOC may suspend our membership” — Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan, President Pakistan Olympic Association By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed The News on Sunday: What is the issue with the POA and why has it not been resolved yet? Lt General (retd) Arif Hasan: Those who lost the elections to me in July joined hands with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to remove a legally elected President, totally misinterpreting the Supreme Court’s decision. The POA is a non-governmental organisation and is a creation of the International Olympics Association and, as per rules of the IOC, it should be free of any political or government influence. It’s quite strange that Pakistan is one of the few countries, out of the 204 members, which defies this rule. The so-called POA headed by Akram Sahi has full support of the government which wants to control the federations through funds which it gives to these sports bodies through PSB. There have been repeated warnings of Pakistan’s suspension as an IOC member if the problem persists but this group is not deterred at all. TNS: Your opponents claim your election for the third time is against rules and there were irregularities in the election process. AH: The three tenure clause was included in the Sports Policy which has been contested by the federations since its inception on the plea that there is no such clause in their constitution, which for them is the supreme document. The PSB, to off set this argument, amended their rules in 2009. The board wants to centralise everything. They gave itself the powers to annul or amend any constitution of any federation and suspend any of its officer-bearers whenever it wanted. The IOC objected to this and asked federations to simply follow their constitutions and requested the PSB to respect the constitution of the federations and also to remove these clauses from the rules. As far as the POA is concerned, it does not get any grant from the PSB and is also not affiliated with it. It is a body of the IOC. The Supreme Court order is very clear. They have in para 10 of their judgement stated that their decision does not affect POA. In para 6 of the same decision they have also categorically stated that the Sports Policy is only applicable to those affiliated to the PSB. On the elections, I would say I was elected through secret ballot and I had a clear lead over both the other candidates — Akram Sahi and Qasim Zia. The matter is in the Supreme Court and I cannot comment any more on this. Meanwhile, they have set up an interim committee and despite warnings from the IOC established a parallel association through bogus and fraudulent elections which have no legal value. Even the PSB observers in their report confirmed irregularities. It should not even be called POA in the first place. I would request the media not to call it POA as it has got nothing to do with the international olympic movement. Saying there are two POAs creates confusion. TNS: What can be the implications if this deadlock persists? AH: IOC would simply suspend Pakistan’s membership which would disgrace the country and deprive its players from competing in international sports events. We (POA) have managed to ward off this threat till now but for how long I don’t know. Today, there are several parallel sports federations established on the behest of the government to qualify as an electoral college for selection of a so-called POA. As all the funds come from the government, PSB blackmails players and genuine sports federations with suspension of financial support if they go with the genuine POA. There are no funds to pay for training for players and sending them to international destinations for participation in events. Sportsmen have recently travelled on self-help basis as the federations and POA has facilitated them. I hope this stalemate would end and the POA and the government work hand-in-hand on the promotion of sports. TNS: How can the POA you represent work when it is financially dependant on the government, especially when it is opposed to it? AH: POA gets no grant from the PSB. It primarily has an advisory role and the promotion of sports falls purely in the government’s domain. Besides, it assumes the role of forming linkages of players and government with international bodies for the promotion of sports. Whenever it has arranged events or wanted to send players in international events, the finances have come mostly from the government. Only the government has resources to promote sports from top to the union council level and in educational institutions, etc, to produce sportsmen. TNS: Your opponents allege the POA in the recent past has not performed well, used government funds and not honoured court decision, especially the one regarding your elections. How do you defend yourself? AH: How can POA be held responsible for non-performance in hockey or athletics, etc? These federations get direct funding from the PSB and POA has no role in training, etc. All these allegations are wrong. POA, while remaining within its mandate, has performed very well. For example, it successfully held SAF exams in Islamabad which are known as one of the best in history. It raised over Rs200 million funds under the banner of Pakistan Sports Trust, each and every penny of which has been accounted for and audited. The association holds lectures in schools, colleges, etc, to raise awareness about sports and the olympic movement. We organised the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay which was commended by the President of China. We gave presentations to the president, prime minister, sports ministers on sports development. It was the first time the seven members of POA were elected on the committees of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). Besides, it has introduced a large number of Pakistani athletes at national and international level. Coming to the second allegation, this group organised the so-called and illegal national games recently and reportedly spent Rs130 million on it. The PSB happily released the amount. On the other hand, we organised the 32nd national games last year which cost Rs15 million only. There were 3,000 officials and players and all of them got transportation, hotels, and T.A.D.A. Now, who spends government money at will and without justification? And finally, this illegal group deliberately misinterprets clear-worded court judgements and tries to manipulate them for its own benefit and took it as a justification to form an interim committee and later on elect an illegal association. Their key member, Asif Bajwa, was fined Rs 50,000 by a civil court in Islamabad for misguiding it on this matter, though the fine amount was reduced by half later on. “They are misleading the IOC” — Khawaja Farooq Saeed, secretary general of Pakistan Olympic Association (Gen (retd) Akram Sahi group) By Aoun Sahi The News on Sunday: We have two parallel POAs in Pakistan. General (retd) Arif Hasan group still has the IOC backing. Why do you term it illegal? Khawaja Farooq Saeed: The issue over two POAs has already been settled legally in the wake of decisions of the Lahore High Court in 2010 and lately by the Supreme Court on February 8, 2013. Arif Hasan’s election for the third term on February 4, 2013 was subject to the outcome of SC decision as an appeal was pending in the court on the issue. Once the court decided that no office-bearer can be allowed to keep office for more than two terms, he was no more head of POA and, legally speaking, his POA did not exist after February 8. Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and ministry of inter-provincial coordination have written letters to all federations that General (retd) Akram Sahi and Khawaja Farooq Saeed-led POA is the legal POA. We need to obey the orders of the Supreme Court and the law of the land. We also ensure compliance to the IOC Charter and Olympic Movement in Pakistan. If one does not respect laws of one’s own country how is he expected to respect laws of any other body? TNS: What is role of PSB in POA affairs? PSB is a government department while POA is an independent body. KFS: It is true that PSB is a government department and its job is to expand and look after the sports infrastructure and not to make or break associations. POA and other associations are independent bodies like NGOs. But, it the is job of the government to facilitate these associations and to provide them funds to hold games. The government gives grants to POA and only that association would be considered legal that is endorsed by the government. The PSB also owns sports infrastructure and without its support POA cannot hold national games in a good manner. So, PSB and POA need to have a good working relationship to promote sports and infrastructure in Pakistan. TNS: What is the mandate of POA? KFS: The mission of the National Olympic Committees like the POA according to the IOC charter is to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement. Its role is to promote the fundamental principles and values of Olympism in their countries, in particular, in the fields of sport and education, by promoting Olympic educational programmes at all levels in schools, sports and physical education institutions and universities, as well as by encouraging the creation of institutions dedicated to Olympic education. Pakistani sports federations cannot participate in big games without POA’s approval. POA is not even a member of IOC; it is a member of Association National Olympic Committees (ANOC) which is a member of IOC and deals with IOC through ANOC. TNS: Is your POA a member of ANOC? KFS: Most of the international bodies outside Pakistan are not aware of the situation in Pakistan. We were elected on July 5, 2013 and now have started communicating with international sports bodies, including the IOC. The POA led by General (retd) Arif Hasan is misleading the IOC through misrepresentation of facts. After our communication, the IOC has called Syed Shahid Ali, member IOC in Pakistan and minister for inter-provincial coordination, for a meeting. We have been demanding that General (retd) Akram Sahi should also be invited. Pakistan may face a ban by the IOC only because of one person — Arif Hasan. He has ‘served’ Pakistani sports for 10 years and I think it is time for him to leave the POA with dignity. He still holds several international positions, including vice president of the Asian Olympic Association and would get a lot of chance to make international trips. We request him to leave POA to a new elected body. TNS: What are your differences with General (retd) Arif Hasan? KSF: We have nothing personal against him. He came to the POA ten years ago with a lot of promises. He is the person who involved the then dictator Pervez Musharraf in the affairs of POA. Musharraf ‘convinced’ Syed Shahid Ali in a meeting at his office to withdraw in favour of Arif Hasan. Hasan set up Pakistan Sports Trust and collected funds of millions of rupees but nobody knows what he has done with that money. Has he managed to increase the number of medals for Pakistan? He has not been able to bring any mentionable change. TNS: What would be an IOC ban mean for Pakistan? KSF: That would put a ban on Pakistani officials to take part in Olympics and other big events but Pakistani athletes still could participate in these games under the flag of IOC. Hasan has a kitchen cabinet of 6-7 men and they were the only ones to participate in international meetings and events at the expense of POA. We are more worried about the fact that the ban would result in ban on carrying the Pakistan flag in Olympics. That would be a great blow to Pakistan’s already tarnished image. The case of two national games A proof of the conflict within the POA lies in holding two national games — one in Lahore in December 2012 and the other in Islamabad in July 2013 Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has been holding national games every two years since 1948. But this year was unique with two games being held in a year — one in Lahore in December 2012 and the other in Islamabad in July 2013. The 31st National games were held in Peshawar in 2010 and, in 2011, it was decided that the 32nd national games would be held in Lahore in 2012. Besides the four provinces, Islamabad, Fata, three services (army, navy and air force) and four departments (Wapda, HEC, Railways and Police) take part in the games. The winner gets the Quaid-i-Azam trophy. In the first week of December 2012, when all arrangements had been made by Major General (retd) Arif Hasan-led POA to hold the 32nd national games at Lahore, the three services: army, navy, air force, and Islamabad opted out of the games. The reason they gave for not participating was that the Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) had violated Pakistan Sports Board’s policy that strictly prohibits its office-bearers from remaining in charge for more than two terms. “The army even did not return the Quaid-i-Azam trophy to the organising committee,” says Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, general secretary POA, led by Arif Hasan. “Despite the controversy, the 32nd national games at Lahore featured 27 male and 14 female participants. Wapda won most gold medals and points and stood first but, for the first time in history, did not get the Quaid-i-Azam trophy,” he adds. Mahmood says only Rs10.5 million were spent on holding games in Lahore. “We collected most of the funds from our own resources. But at least Rs80 million were spent on the games held in July 2013 under the interim committee. Even the Lahore High Court (LHC) stopped them from using the title of 32nd national games,” he says. Khawaja Farooq Saeed, general secretary POA, led by Major General (retd) Akram Sahi, says they have been contesting the issue in the courts — “The LHC did not stop us from holding the games and the case is still pending in the court over the issue of title of the games”. According to Saeed, around 2000 athletes took part in the games held in Islamabad last month. “Only police and Wapda did not participate in these games.” Saeed says the Supreme Court of Pakistan also declared on February 8, 2013 that sports policy should be implemented. “ Experts say holding of parallel national games is a clear reflection on our sports where no new SAF, Asian or Olympic record has been equalised or broken. They think the sorry state of affairs in POA can lead to a ban from IOC. “National Games are supposed to be the prime sports activity in a country which shows an image of our national sports system,” says Aamir Bilal, sports writer and chief of Sports Development Foundation (SDF), the first ever sports NGO and think tank of Pakistan. He says that in order to resolve the issue and to put sports on the right track, it is necessary to understand the working of IOC, its mandate and role and how respective National Olympic Associations like POA should conduct its business. — Aoun Sahi
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 22:59:00 +0000
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