ISLAMABAD-Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Minister Mian Riaz Hussian Pirzada has said that the audit of Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) should be conducted without wasting further time as it is must to revive the game.
The IPC minister expressed these views during Senate Standing Committee on IPC held under the chair of chairman Senator Saud Majeed in the Parliament House on Wednesday. Pirzada said that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi has ordered to enhance grant of medal-winning athletes and federations and would also inaugurate the first Sports University in the second week of December.
Pirzada said that the IPC ministry will send a high-level delegation to FIFA to discuss Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) issues and hopefully, the world football governing body will listen to ground realities and resolve the issue amicably as it will help Pakistan football team and footballers play international matches once again and participate in mega events.
He said after the FIFA suspension on Pakistan Football Federation, he wants the world’s football body to give powers to the government to conduct the PFF elections. “We want to help our footballers and want to give them stipends for their better living.”
Pirzada said that federal government is going to construct world-class hockey academy in the federal capital as per Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) demand. “The government is taking every possible step to provide special grants and assistance to the PHF, as hockey is our national game and it is our national and moral responsibility to help the federation in the best possible fashion.”
He said that he had passed on the directives to provinces to check and confirm lists of Pakistan Swimming Federation office-bearers. “Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) provides Rs 3.5 million annual grant to Pakistan Swimming Federation and it is our national duty to ensure audit of funds and how they are being utilized. I also passed on directives to charge-sheet swimming federation, which was endorsed by chairman Saud Majeed.”
Pirzada accepted that due to international obligations, the government had to back-step from Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) sorry state of affairs and had to accept Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hassan as POA president for the third term.
He said he had requested to the PM to enhance the funds of medal winners, as it makes no sense of giving grants to those federations, who since long have been completely flopped, when it comes to winning international medals. So the special grant must be given to medal winning players and federations, who play out their hearts and win laurels for the country. We highly appreciate and respect all those sons and daughters of soil, who are applying their trade despite limited resources and lack of infrastructure, even then they are winning medals at international level.”
He informed the committee that the first Sports University in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC) is going to be infuriated in December. “We will invite top professional coaches from different countries and prepare our coaches, while we are going to sign an MoU with best Chinese university. We have prepared charter and classes will start at Pakistan Sports Complex premises.”
He said another top class hockey stadium would be constructed in Islamabad. “We didn’t receive funds for astroturf yet. We had started training camps for athletes for Commonwealth Games. I want provincial governments to lift ban from conducting traditional sports in villages, towns and revive traditional fairs to help us find fresh talent in almost every sporting field.”
Sharing her views, former MNA Kashmala Tariq said: “Kamran Lashri remained Pakistan Swimming Federation president for two terms. Now he has changed constitution of the federation and became chairman and appointed Major (r) Majeed Waseem as president. For the last 10 years, not a single training camp of swimming was conducted. There is a dire need to focus on swimming, and it needs really hard work to prepare swimmers for the 2020 Olympics.”