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Ad hoc body illegal, says Lt Gen (R) Syed Arif Hasan, President POA Back To Main

 The Nation

By: Our Staff Reporter | January 09, 2013 LAHORE - Pakistan Olympic Association president Lt Gen (retd) Syed Airf Hasan has termed the action of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for putting POA under an ad-hoc committee ‘illegal’ and a move to draw an action from International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Talking to the reporters here at the Pakistan Olympic House on Tuesday, Arif Hasan said: “We have not yet been officially communicated regarding the action of PSB for placing us under adhoc and there is no valid justification for it. PSB cannot take such an action against the national Olympic committee.” The POA chief said it was unfortunate that efforts were being made to push POA to the wall by adopting different tactics to harm the interest of sports in Pakistan.

“Such an action is against the Olympic movement and charters of IOC and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and we will not accept it as we are the elected body recognised by IOC and OCA,” he added. Arif said the POA was actively playing its due role in the development of sports and it was following the Olympic chapter in true and spirit. “We will resist any such move like imposing of ad-hoc on POA as we have the backing of the IOC and OCA on this issue and both the international bodies are well aware of the situation as we are informing them on regular basis.”

The POA president said they would inform IOC regarding the latest development and it was the IOC which would decide its course of action in the prevailing circumstances. To a query, he replied: “The ad-hoc committee has no power or authority to declare the recentlyconcluded National Games in Lahore null and void and to re-organise the Games in Islamabad in the current year as announced.” “According to Para 5-D of the National Sports Policy, the POA is the only supreme sports institution to announce the dates of the National Games and to allocate them to a province or a service or a department which is affiliated with POA and any committee has no legal authority to allocate the Games,” said the POA chief. Gen Arif rejected a questioner of holding the fresh elections of POA by the ad-hoc committee. “How can they do so, they have no authority for conducting the elections of the national Olympic committee which is a democratically elected house,” he added.

He said the matter of implementing the sports policy was pending in two apex courts, the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Lahore High Court where certain issues and points were under review or appeal. “It is shocking that when the matter is in two courts, how can ad-hoc be imposed on POA, under which law or authority and all these actions are aiming to disrupt the smooth functioning of the POA which will not bow down to these pressure tactics,” he concluded.