National Games: POA seeks Balochistan CM intervention

National Games: POA seeks Balochistan CM intervention

ISLAMABAD: As the Congress meets in Lahore on March 31 to decide the fate of the 33rd National Games, the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) seeks Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) intervention following repeated failure of the provincial sports policy makers to comply with their promises.

In a letter to CM Balochistan Jam Kamal, president POA president Lt Gen (rtd) Arif Hasan has made one last try reminding the provincial government on the importance of the event and their repeated failures to comply with one after another promise.

“I am writing to you on a matter of great importance – important not only for the country but for the Province of Balochistan also. As you may be aware, the 33rd National Games were allotted to the Balochistan Olympic Association in 2012 on the request of the Government of Balochistan. We felt that hosting of the Games in Balochistan would give a tremendous boost to the image of the province by projecting its glorious traditions and culture to the world. It would give a boost to the economy of Quetta. It would give Quetta and the province an opportunity to witness these mega games, an opportunity, the people would normally not get. Most of all, it would develop in the youth a desire to participate in sport and physical development, an aspect so essential for the youth of Balochistan. From the national point of view, it is a great opportunity to showcase the event as one of national harmony and solidarity,” the letter addressed to CM says.

The letter further adds that the National Games were allotted to Quetta in 2012. “For one reason or the other the Games kept being postponed. This was mainly due to the fact that the Government of Balochistan was unable to develop the infrastructure and the finances.

There was great pressure on us to take away the Games from Quetta and allot it to some other province and there were provinces very willing to hold the same. However, all these years we kept resisting the pressure for this change as we did not want the people of Balochistan to be deprived of this opportunity. Very recently we invited the Secretary of Sports to our General Council meeting held in Lahore to finalise the dates. In this meeting the Secretary assured the House that the Games could be held in April 2019 and that he would go back and send us the confirmation after the Parliamentary meeting scheduled in the next few days.

Thereafter he would invite the Sports Committee of POA to visit Quetta to inspect the venues and other arrangements. Unfortunately, after his return to Quetta we never heard from him again. Presumably he has been posted out. Pakistan Olympic Association and the entire Olympic family in particular is of the considered opinion that the Games should be organised in Quetta for a strong message of peace, unity and prosperity. However, and I am sure you will agree, the continuous delays in the Games have caused a severe setback for the sportspersons.

They have been deprived of competition that is so essential for their own progression and development. This is now more of a concern as the South Asian Games are scheduled in December 2019 and it is absolutely imperative that the National Games are held by September this year to enable the Federations to finalise their teams.”

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/446359-national-games-poa-seeks-balochistan-cm-intervention