ISLAMABAD -Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) director general Amir Hamza Gillani said Monday that the PSB is favouring interim committee of the Pakistan Olympic Committee (POA) because the body was abiding by the government rules and the National Sports Policy 2005.
Talking to The Nation on Monday, Gillani said: “We will implement the National Sports Policy in true letter and spirit following the directions of our government and the apex courts. We are not backing any body but we are watching our national interests.”
PSB DG also informed that the 32nd National Games held at Lahore earlier this year were illegal and without authenticity as most of the departments and federations didn’t participate in that event. “Now the 32nd National Games which are being held by the interim committee later this month in Islamabad are legal,” he added.
He pointed out that the PSB had constituted a finance committee which would ensure transparency regarding expenditure to be incurred during the National Games and up-gradation/repair/maintenance of sports infrastructure at Pakistan Sports Complex.
He said that a series of allegations were leveled against the PSB by creating misunderstanding that the PSB was intervening in the affairs of the POA by constituting an interim Olympic committee. “The constitution of Interim Olympic Committee is the sole prerogative of national sports federations, which, having reservations on the policies of Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hassan, formed an interim committee in a meeting to look after the affairs of the POA.”
The federations also disqualified Syed Arif Hassan from working as president POA,” he concluded.