KARACHI - Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan has called ‘the Pakistan Sports Board's (PSB) intent to hold the so-called National Games under a self-appointed ad-hoc body as inappropriate and said the PSB was breaching its own rules of business and practices in vogue for long.
Speaking at a news conference here Monday at Karachi Press Club, the POA chief said in case the PSB was wanted to host games they should do it with some different name as the ‘National Games’ was the property of the POA.
He said the POA would fully support if an event with a changed another name was held and the next National Games would be held in 2014. “The National Games have already been held and now these Games could be held without the POA's explicit sanction and the POA shall allot the games in due course. Anybody and everybody are quite welcome to hold any event but in no way these can be called National Games.” About PSB Board meeting in Islamabad on January 8, he said the meeting can be adjudged by the fact that Brig Iqtidar Naseer represented four organisations polo, equestrian, golf and army sports directorate in the meeting and his name has appeared in the list of those attended the meeting. He said under the rule, only one representative from services sports board is allowed to attend the PSB meeting.
He said the differences and misunderstanding could be sorted out in a reconciliatory and not in coercive manner.
He said he been updating the IOC regularly on the events as they were happening and developments in Pakistan. Now it had been decided to invite representatives of POA and the PSB to IOC headquarters at Lausanne where the two bodies could get an opportunity to give their points of view, he added.