LAHORE: Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) senior vice-president Syed Aqil Shah is not happy with the way the election of the POA’s president for an interim period was conducted on December 31, 2023, following the resignation of Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan.
“The process was totally bulldozed,” Shah told ‘The News’ on Sunday. “It was an emergent meeting of the POA’s Executive Committee and election for the POA’s presidency for an interim period was not on the agenda,” Shah pointed out.
“I was presiding that meeting. I did not say that election for the interim president of the POA should be conducted. I was on zoom and shouting but they left the meeting and said that the elections were held. They accepted Arif Hasan’s resignation and in just a few minutes everything was wrapped up,” said Shah, also a former sports minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“This election is a total hoax and I will challenge it at all levels. I will write an open letter to the Army Chief, President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister. I will also write a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA),” warned Shah, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF).
Arif Hasan announced his resignation through a letter to the POA’s Executive Committee on December 28. On December 31, the POA’s Executive Committee meeting was held in which the resignation was accepted and and POA’s vice-president and former DG FIA Syed Mohammad Abid Qadri Gillani was elected as president for an interim period until the election of the POA to be held in the last quarter of 2024. He secured 23 votes out of 25 as per a POA press release.
“I had no craving to become the POA’s president but it was highly unjust to manipulate the things like this despite the fact that I was heading the meeting as the POA’s senior vice-president,” Shah said.
He also clarified that he was not facing any age issue. “There is no age issue with me. I will be 75 in 2025. The upper age limit is 71 years for those who contest the coming election for the POA’s presidency which will be held for complete four-year tenure,” Shah said.
“Any member of the general council can contest for an interim period and every member of the general council was interested in contesting the election but they were not given the chance as you have to notify the election first,” Shah said.
A POA source told ‘The News’ that POA’s Executive Committee filled the vacant position as per the POA’s Constitution Article X (3) which states that “all vacancies of the office bearers and members of Executive Committee shall be filled in by the Executive Committee by majority of votes subject to ratification at the next General Council meeting during the intervening periods falling between the two election meetings of the General Council.