NEW DELLHI Chef de mission of Pakistan contingent to Commonwealth Games Dr. MA Shah has said South Asia has huge potential to host different world events including the Olympic Games. Talking to The Nation here on Sunday hours before the crucial group A match between Pakistan and India, Dr. Shah said this region has shown to the world how international events could be organised if the countries of the sub-continent join hands. He said he was not speaking something new. The two countries of the region Pakistan and India had already initiated the idea of sports cooperation whenthey joined hands to host 1987 cricket World Cup. When Pakistan Cricket Board under Air Marshal Nur Khan initiated the idea of Pakistan and India jointly hosting the World Cup, everybody and mostly the white cricketing nations in the ICC, brushed aside the idea as impractical. They had the cheeks to ask the head of PCB if his country had money to bid for the World Cup and were shocked when Pakistan said it was indeed bidding for the mega event. But the two countries proved the doubters wrong and launched a new idea of cooperation and set aside their political differences. Later on, two more cricket World Cup were hosted in the region and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh also joined Pakistan and India. If the countries of the region continued to show the same zeal and cooperation as in the World Cup, the region could also join hands in even hosting Olympics which would be a welcome steps. But he said his wish would only be translated in reality if there was a political will to do some things never done before. He said he knew that Olympics was awarded to a city and not to a nation but the International Olympic Committee could take new and revolutionary deviation to allot Olympics to four countries rather than to one city if the countries of the subcontinent think of jointly bidding for Olympics, he added. He said he was aware his idea and suggestion may draw criticism but he reminded how the World Football Cup was jointly hosted in Asia. Japan and its once arch enemy joined hands to host Football World Cup. South Africa also awarded some matches of cricket world cup to its neighbour Zimbabwe and in the Caribbean a number of countries with different political ideologies and system shared the world cricket cup recently. With cost of holding Olympics rising and getting out of reach of even some advanced countries, it was time that the cost be shared by countries which have common borders like India and Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka and India and Bangladesh. Even advanced countries were feeling the pinch of rising costs of Olympics. Greece had to pay dearly for spending on Olympics. Even the strongest economies would be looking for help for hosting Olympics in future. Then why not start jointly holding the Olympics, he added. He praised India for successfully hosting Commonwealth Games. India had spent billions of rupees to build infrastructure and facilities. In the longer run it would be beneficial to Indian economies. When one organizes a huge event like Commonwealth games some mistakes were bound to be made or some shortcomings were detected. He said he would have liked the Indian Olympic Committee to have invited officials of the region to attend the games and get valuable technical and organisational experience. He said India was ideally placed to bid for Olympics but he in the name of sports solidarity in the region, he would advse India to invite regional countries to come along when bids. It would be an honor for the region to host mega event like Olympics. Let each and every countries in the region share that honor, he added.