ISLAMABAD: As the POA Congress meets in Lahore on March 31 to decide the fate of the 33rd National Games, the Pakistan Olympic Association has sought Balochistan chief minister’s intervention following repeated failure of the province’ sports policy-makers to fulfil their promises.
In a letter to CM Jam Kamal Khan, POA President Lt Gen (r) Arif Hasan has tried to remind the provincial government of the importance of the event and its repeated failures to fulfil its 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 … From the national point of view, it is a great opportunity to showcase the event as one of national harmony and solidarity,” the letter says.
The letter further says: “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.
“Very recently we invited the Secretary of Sports to our General Council Meeting held in Lahore on 12 January, 2019 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. Unfortunately, after his return to Quetta we never heard from him again.
“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. 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.”
The POA has requested the CM to intervene.
“In case, the Games cannot be held in near future then the 33rd National Games will be allotted to some other province and the Government of Balochistan, if so desired, can hold the 34th Chapter after two years.”