ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) high-ups on Wednesday accepted that government was not giving the priority to sports as compared to the countries as Pakistan failed to win medals in international events.
National Assembly Standing Committee for Inter Provincial Coordination headed by Mir Ahmadan Bugti called Pakistan Sports Board representative in Parliament House. Members of the committee Haji Roz Din, Tasneem Siddiqui, Qudsia Arshad and other organisations representatives also attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Tasneem Siddiqui said: “The main aim of putting the PSB Bill 2012 is to make sure corruption from the country and federations to be rooted out and try to provide better living to past heroes, who had won gold medals for the country in international events and now are forced to sell their medals to earn bread and butter for their families. Infighting between Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and the PSB is continued unabated, which is harming the sports persons in general and country in particular.”
“It is further suggested that due to prevailing sports situation in the country, an ombudsman in the PSB should be appointed, who should be a retired judge of High Court and should give verdict on all the conflicts between federations and players and the every federations should be bound to accept the verdict and they should be barred from going against it in any other court,” he said.
It is also proposed that according to the PSB Bill 2012, a board should be constituted headed by Prime Minister with provincial sports ministers should be the members so that they could play positive role for the uplift of sports in the country.
Speaking at the occasion, PSB Executive Board secretary Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also the joint secretary of the IPC, said: “The committee after the passage of 18th amendment sports ministry was dissolved and handed over to provinces, and there is no need of any further amendment for constituting a new board in the PSB.”
“The PSB tried to implement sports policy on federations, but they got stay order from courts and five out of 39 federations affiliated with the PSB are violating sports policy,” he said.
“The IOC earlier had called on both the POA and the PSB officials and they had no objection regarding implementation of sports policy. They, however, said the federations have to decide on implementing policy and government should not force federations in this regard,” he added. He told the committee that athletes, who represent country at international level, return home empty-handed and government was not giving that importance to sports which is the need of the hour.
The representatives of Law Ministry told the committee that after 18th amendment, parliament did not have the right to make any amendments in sports policy. If they even do so, it will only be applicable in centre, which is of no use. Chairman Mir Ahmadan Bugti has constituted a five-member committee under IPC Ministry to look into the PSB Bill and they would submit their recommendations to the committee.