LAHORE: Fearing an imminent ban on the country’s sports federations by the international governing bodies due to government interference, the Pakistan Olympic Association general council on Saturday passed a resolution against the decision of Pakistan Sports Board’s decision to take control of national federations’ elections which the POA termed a violation of the IOC Charter.

Interestingly, the POA did not issue any official statement on the outcome of the general council meeting which was held at a local hotel in Lahore.

When contacted by Dawn, POA secretary Khalid Mah­mood said that an official press release on the matter would be issued on Sunday.

However, Khalid said that the general council had passed the resolution against PSB’s decision of taking control of elections of the national sports federations.

The POA would also write a letter to the PSB to inform it about the decision of the general council, he added.

“This matter of government’s interference in POA affairs was settled in 2015 under the IOC Charter. [Therefore] the latest PSB decision to have control over elections of the national sports federations is the same act of violating the IOC Charter,” Khalid underlined.

Moreover, Khalid said that the POA general council also decided to hold a meeting with the South Asian Games Olympic Committee in January to move ahead on hosting the South Asian Games in November 2025.

The meeting also discussed the matter of holding the National Games in October next year, he said.

Last September, the IOC in a letter written to the Pakistan government informed it that there were reports signalling the government was again seeking to interfere in the affairs of the bodies working under the IOC Charter, despite the government’s acknowledgement that all the sports bodies in the country were functioning independently under the Charter.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024