ISLAMABAD: The Professional Squash Association (PSA) continues to play spoil sport when it comes to organising international events in Pakistan as yet again it has refused to do away with pointless exercise of carrying out security survey ahead of every tournament.
‘The News’ has learnt from well-placed sources that the PSA in its latest communiqué has refused to lift security restrictions making it clear that Dubai-based firm Sports Risk would continue to monitor the on-site arrangements ahead of every international event in Pakistan.
Reliable reports suggested that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has recently written a letter to the PSA to reconsider this unnecessary practice that ultimate results in discouraging sponsors to back the game. However, all the efforts went fruitless as the PSA continues to stick to its rotten stance.
It is not like that the PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough a former top ten player does not know anything about Pakistan or never been here, it seems that he gets carried away with biased propaganda against a country that continuously keeps on hosting international events ever since law and order improved leaps and bounds.
“Instead of helping out countries to organise international events regularly, the PSA, it seems, is bent upon to discourage affiliated units putting one condition or the other when it comes to hosting international events. Gough has played with me and seems a reasonable man. But here his role is little bit annoying,” a former leading international squash player, when approached, said.
Pakistan has been singled out by the PSA for such tough security check exercise, forcing sponsors to think twice when it comes to supporting international events.
Last year alone Pakistan has to pay almost $60,000 extra in the form of security assessment fee and catering for the independent security officials’ travelling arrangements. Though time and gain the PSA deputed company expressed its satisfaction over the security measures adopted for each and every tournament yet the PSA was not ready to accept ground realities.
“The major cities of Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are safer to organise international events when we compare them to some of Indian, Egyptian and even New Zealand cities. I have never heard anything about Islamabad when it comes to terrorist activities. The capital city is as safe as any European city is. Even safer than USA and New Zealand cities where every now then you hear students and psychic going on shooting spree killing dozens of people in the process. Nothing of that sort ever happens in Pakistan so why these tough conditions only for the country that has contributed so much for the game in the past,” he added.
The stubborn attitude of the PSA has started disheartening sponsors who have been forced to think twice when it comes to putting their money in a particular tournament. Sponsors, it seems, are reluctant to pay extra $5000-$7000 under the head of security assessment for each and every tournament.
“That increases our expenditures forcing us to think twice whether investing such an amount would fetch us anything. We believe spending extra money is totally uncalled for. We have requested the PSF to wave off the amount if it wants us to support the game. However, the PSF’s plea is that the assessment fee has nothing to do with it and is requirement of the world body. I feel it is unjust and equal to putting up extra pressure on us,” the representative of one of the leading sports sponsors, when contacted, said.
Even in a recent interview with ‘The News’ during one of the international events, Sam Dickason (Dubai-based security expert) said that coming here before the start of every international squash event had been a useless exercise in a broader sense.
“I have never seen the security arrangements as solid and up to the mark as these were seen here in Pakistan for each and every international squash event from the time the Sports Risk representative started visiting here.”
Dickason said that each time he landed here he found even better arrangements. “The best thing about security measures taken in Pakistan is that these get better and better with each passing event. Every time I reach here I find even better measures to look after security of the visitors at all levels.”
It is not yet clear whether the latest rebuke by the PSA would discourage the PSF and sponsors when it comes to organising international events or they would continue to make efforts to open up opportunities for country’s youth against all odds.