News > POA

PSB observers raise objections against interim committee polls Back To Main

dawn.com

By Our Sports Reporter

LAHORE, July 15: The Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) observers have raised six objections in their report against the conduct of the elections of the interimcommittee of the Pakistan Olympic Assoication (POA), raising doubts over the status of the body which is working as a parallel one to the IOC-recognised POA headed by retired Gen Arif Hasan.

As a result of those elections, which were held in Islamabad on July 5, Gen Akram Sahi and Khawaja Farooq Saeed were elected as president and secretary of the body respectively.

The PSB, it may be mentioned, patronized the elections despite a clear warning of the IOC that it may slap a ban on Pakistan if the elections will be held to form any parallel body.

Two representatives of the PSB, namely Imtiaz Yousuf, Deputy Secretary sports, and Mohammad Azam Dar, Director (NF) attended the elective meeting as observers.

In their joint report, a copy of which has been obtained by Dawn, the objection raised are:

a) Some of the federations’ representatives were new and were not legitimate office bearers of the federations recognized by PSB.

b) The secretary, interim committee (Rana Mujahid) of POA staged a boycott of the election proceedings for the reasons best known to him.

c) The National Rifle Association of Pakistan and Pakistan Hockey Federation did not cast their votes.

d) The interim committee of POA had not provided the list of member units along with their voting strength and the nomination letters of each member unit to the observers to ascertain the genuineness of the voters representing various units of the POA.

e) It was noted that the names of voters recommended by the federations were changed at the time of polling.

f) It is apprehended that interim committee of the POA appointed managing committees of various national sports federations/provincial Olympic associations, etc to streamline their working and muster the support of their candidates.

Sources said that owing to these six objections, the PSB has not as yet issued a clearance certificate to Akram Sahi’s body.