The participation of Pakistani judokas in the 2017 Baku Islamic Games is in danger because of the differences between Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF). So far judo is not in the list of the disciplines in which Pakistan will feature in these Games which are slated to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital from May 12-22.
The POA is of the opinion that if any judoka directly approaches the NOC for participation his or her entry will be sent for featuring in the Islamic Games. The POA has made it clear that it will not send any entry of judo from the platform of the PJF which the NOC does not recognise.
When the other day I asked the POA secretary Khalid Mehmood about the POA’s plan of sending the entry of Pakistan’s star judoka Olympian Shah Hussain for the Islamic Games, Khalid said Shah had not yet approached the POA.
It’s a serious issue. Shah, who created history when he qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics on the basis of the continental quota, can produce a medal for Pakistan in the Islamic Games because of his strong stature in the world of judo. Not only Shah but young Qaiser Khan, who is a tremendous talent, should also be fielded in the Islamic Games as the player from FATA is a rare talent and can pull off a surprise.
It is necessary to understand the basic differences between the POA and the PJF. In October 2015 at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, it had been decided that the PJF, Pakistan Cycling Federation (PCF) and Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) would be re-inducted into the POA on the condition that these federations would withdraw all the cases they had filed against the POA in various courts.
But the sub-clause of the pact was that "any future sports related/institutional disputes in relation to the POA will be addressed in accordance with the dispute-resolution mechanisms established in the POA’s Constitution."
And here the POA showed its vindictive approach. Now there is no issue of the AFP with the POA, but PJF and PCF are still on the hit list of the NOC. The POA chose not to invite PJF and PCF to its general council meeting held at Lahore on January 30. The POA says that these federations have not withdrawn their cases against the POA. But the federations say they have.
By using the sub-clause of the Lausanne agreement the POA has been creating great problems for these two federations. The basic fault of these federations is that they had supported Maj Gen (retd) Akram Sahi when he was fighting against the POA. Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) is also facing the brunt for backing Sahi, who at that time had strong support of the Pakistan government. The PNF has been disassociated from the Olympic fold.
I would like to mention here that all these federations are recognised by their respective International Federations (IFs). But the issue of the PJF is serious because in judo Pakistan has a rich talent and it becomes impossible for a federation to field its players in any mega international events which are directly related to the POA which is authorised to finalise the disciplines and send entries.
There were similar problems before the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. However, on the request of Shah Hussain’s father, former Pakistan Olympic bronze medalist boxer Hussain Shah, the POA had sent Shah Hussain’s entry and he went on to win silver medal for Pakistan in Glasgow.
As per rules an NOC cannot bypass an internationally-recognised federation in these matters but it was done because the POA did not recognise PJF.
There was no official at Glasgow with Shah. And it was a senior official of Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) Mohammad Jehangir who assisted Japan-based Shah during the assignment.
On the eve of the PJF elections held late last year two representatives of the POA had met the representative of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Gerard Benone in Islamabad who had come to observe the PJF elections. The POA had informed Gerard about the differences with the PJF. But IJF still recognises PJF. The PJF elections had been held last summer in which Col Junaid Alam, an influential man in Army’s sports, got elected as president and Mansoor Ahmed as secretary. Mansoor is the brother of the former PJF secretary Masood Ahmed, who now acts as the PJF vice-president and media director.
The problem is when the POA would resolve the issue. During the last few years the POA wrote several letters to IJF and international cycling governing body (UCI) but the international federations did not bother.
The POA should follow rules as without it the NOC would not be able to maintain its writ. But rules should be equal for all. In the case of Sindh Squash Association (SSA) the POA did not enforce its rules. The issue is that the POA in that case cannot go against former squash great Jehangir Khan, who is the chairman of the parallel SSA which is affiliated with the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF).
Muzaffar Shujra-led SSA is affiliated with the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) and as per rules this body should have been part of the PSF. The POA had tasked a committee to resolve the SSA issue but it failed.
Although the POA says the issue will be resolved, insiders say that Shujra-led SSA has already been sidelined. I don’t see that rules are really followed in handling Pakistan’s sports. Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Olympic Association held its elections recently. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association, which is part of the POA, was actively involved in manipulating the elections of FATA Olympic Association.
FATA Olympic Association’s secretary Rehmat Gul Afridi also happens to be the secretary of KP Wushu Association. How can the same person hold two portfolios in two different regions?
Let’s come to the main subject. The authorities must resolve the PJF and PCF issues as quickly as possible so that the affairs of these two disciplines could be run without any trouble in future.