ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Sports Board’s newly appointed director general Shoaib Khoso took office for a three-year term on Friday after emerging as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s favourite among a panel of three candidates.

According to a PSB official, Shoaib holds an MBA degree and work experience as a consultant with the Sindh sports department.

Speaking to Dawn, Shoaib said that he had a clear vision for promotion of sports in the country. The director general added that he would take all stake holders, including sports federations and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) on board for bringing improvements in the sports sector.

Shoaib’s predecessor Asif Zaman, who was appointed by former prime minister Imran Khan, was sacked by Shehbaz in October last year “for failing to perform his duties in accordance to the given mandate.”

Since Asif’s ouster, the DG PSB’s office remained vacant and the body’s affairs were being taken care of by an interim official.

During Asif’s tenure, several sports facilities at the Pakistan Sports Complex here — including the swimming pool and the badminton and squash courts were simultaneously shut down in the name of renovation. The move had caused unrest among the members.

Shoaib said that he would ensure early reopening of the facilities that had been closed because of renovations and repair works. However, a PSB official said that several facilities have already opened and remaining one, the swimming pool, will be reopened in July. The Rodham Hall and the Hamidi Hall, meanwhile, will be inaugurated in the second week of May.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2023